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COLLECTIONS

HISTORICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL

RELATINiJ TO

MOXTriOMERYSHIRE

AND ITS BORDERS.

ISSrEI) BY THK POWYS-LANI) VLVB FOR THE I'SE OF ITS MKMUEHs

VOL. XXX.

LONDON :

PRTNTKD FOR THE CLUB BY

THE BEDFORD PRESS, 20 AND 21, REDFORDBURY. W.C.

1898.

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thf: nkw.york
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LE^'OX AN»
TILDEN ^ A- '^MtO>«i

m-:

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THE NEW YORK

PUBLIC LIBRARY

A«TOR, LENOX ANO
TILDEN FOUNBATIOMiL

PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.
By W. SCOTT OWEN.

The parish of Tregynon takes its name from Cynon, an
early British saint of the middle of the sixth century,
who, with Tydecho, Trinio, and others, accompanied
St. Cadfan from Armorica. It is probable that these
missionaries came over the sea for safety from the war-
like Franks under Clovis, who had dispossessed them
of their lands ; for Cadfan and his friends were men of
high estate.

Of St. Cynon, Mr. Edward Hamer gives the follow-
ing account (Mont. Collections^ Part xxii, p. 49) : —

** Cynon is a name which frequently occurs in Welsh history ;
we have Cynon one of the heroes who escaped frcm the fatal
battle of Cattraeth, and the saint who was the friend of Cadfan,
to whom the churches of Treyynon in our county, and Capel
Cynon in Cardiganshire, are dedicated. He was probably the
saint alluded to in the following extracts from Williams'
History of Radnortthire, in his account of the parish of Llan-
bister : — ' Two miles north-east of the village of Llanbister is
an antique family mansion, called Croes Cynon. This name
frequently occurs in places not at present distinguished by stone
crosses. Cynon, or Cynan,^ was a Welsh saint who flourished
in the sixth century. His cross, or oi'atory, was erected at
Croes Cynon, his hermitage scooped in the rock named Craig
Cynon, and his beverage was composed of the water of Nant
Cynon.'

*' All these three are in this parish, and commemorate, if not
the personal residence of this saint, at least the profound
esteem in which he was holden by its ancient inhabitants.

"There are two streams named Cynon in Cardiganshire, one

^ IHiis is evidently a mistake, as Cynan is a different j)erson.-
VOL. XXX. B

-Ed.

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2 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREOYNON.

which flows into the Vyrnwy, in the parish of Llanwyddyn,^
and another in Glamorganshire, which receives the Dar at
Aberdare."

The name of Cynon also occurs in two farms on the
first-named stream, namely, Cynon Ucha and Cynon
issaf.

Such was our founder ; one of those holy men who
brought the word of God to be preached in the wilds
of Wales. Of him the following verse speaks : —

** A gly waist ti a gant Cynon
Ynddiogel rhag meddwon
Cwrw yw allwedd Calon."

From Englynion y Clyw (*'The Epigrams of Hearing").

" Hast thou heard what Cynon sang ?
Beware of Drunkards —
Ale unlocks the human heart."

The use of Tre instead of Llan points to the town-
ship or vill of Tregynon as being one compact property ;
Tre indicating a civil division, Llan an ecclesiastical one.
In the Llan, too, were several vills or trefs, and this
accords with the later appropriation of Tregynon to the
Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, as
Tregynon was one compact property and easily
appropriated.

The earliest mention of Tregynon is found in eccle-
siastical documents in the Valuation for Tenths in the
Diocese of St. Asaph, about the year 1253, and known
as the " Norwich Taxation" ; a document unearthed by
the late Mr. Rowley Morris, and older than Pope
Nicholas's Taxation — indeed the earliest account extant
of the diocese.

Here we find " Trefkennon" (Tregynon) thus de-
scribed under

" Estimacio Ecc'ar' Ep'atus Assaven Dec' de Powys.

" Taxac o ecc'ar Dec* de Powys fta p'Adam OflSc' loci Yvone*

1 Llanwddyn is in Montgomeryshire, not in Cardiganshire. — Ed,

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 3

rectore' ecc'e de Pola Anianu' Vicar' de Kegidaa, Madocum
Cap'Hanu' 'de Mana'on et alios de Cap' W jur .

" Medietas ecc'e de Trefkenon di Ma Dec a,

** Alia medietas spectat ad hospic*.

"Caplla de Aberafh' [i = ] di Ma Dec' a,

" Cap'lla de Llanoedelaa Vs DecV

This translated reads : —

" A Valuation of the Churches of the Diocese of St. Asaph
in the Deanery of Powys.

'* Taxation of the Churches in the Deanery of Powys made
by Adam [offic' loci, equivalent to Rural Dean], Ivor, Rector of
the Church of Pool, Anian, Vicar of Guilsfield, Madoc, chaplain
of Manafon, and others of the Chapter sworn jurors.

*' One moiety of the Church of Tregynon, J mark [6/8]
... Tenth ...

*' The other moiety belongs to the Hospital [of St. John of
Jerusalem].

"The Chapelry of Aberhafesp, J mark [6/8] ... Tenth ...

*' The Chapelry of Llanwyddelan, 5 shillings ... Tenth."

Here we find Tregynon apparently holding the place
of superior to both Aberhafesp and Llanwyddelan as
** CapellaB*', for Tregynon was an ** ecclesia". It will be
noted at this time only one-half of this church was
appropriated, but in the following Lincoln ** Taxatio"
(of Pope Nicholas), made in the year 1291, it was
altogether appropriated to the Knights Hospitallers,
thus : —

'' Ecclesia de Treskeno est appropriata Hospitalariis et ideo
non taxatur."

(" The Church of Tregynon is appropriated to the Hospitallers
and is therefore not taxed.'')

In 1535, 27 Henry VIII, under the *' Valor Ecclesi-
asticus", Tregynon is thus given : —

*^ Rectoria de Trigymon appropriatur Com'endar' de Hawston,
prout postea patebit."

('• The Rectory of Tregynon is appropriated to the Com-
mandery of Halston, as will appear hereafter.")

But of this there is no later explanation.

Tregynon in those far distant days was evidently

B 2

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4 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREOYNON.

not a rich place, nor in these days does it seem to have
redeemed its character.

The earliest of these Valuations states that at that
time the church of Tregynon was appropriated to the
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who were seated at
Halston, between the years 1165 and 1187. There is
no complete survey of their estates earlier than 1338,
but from different sources we learn that in 1199 a
grant of lands in Whittington, made by one of the
Fitzalans, was confirmed to them by King John at
Rouen, and that in 1273 they were in possession of
the churches of Kinnerley, Tregynon, Carno, Dolygyn-
wall (Yspytty Ifan) and EUesmere.

Eyton, in his Antiquities of Shropshire, vol. x, p. 381,
quotes from the record of 1338 : —

"The Bajulia, or Bailiwick, of Halston is described as in
North Wales ; it was not uncommon thus to describe places
which were in the Marches, but the principal revenues of this
Bailiwick came from Bolgdwal, Oar now and Llanothyn : places
which were actually in North Wales. Dolgelwal is Yspytty Ivan
(Hospitium St. Jobannis), on the borders of Denbighshire and
Carnarvonshire, the ancient name of which was Dol-y-GynwaL"

Tregynon, as a cell of the Knights Hospitallers, was
so placed for the protection and entertainment of
travellers through the wilds of Wales, and indicates
that in those distant days Tregynon lay on the verge of
a wilderness of wild moorland. Similar cells existed at
Carno, Llanwddyn, Yspytty Ivan and Yspytty Cynvyn.

The manor of Cedewain, in which Tregynon lies,
formed one of the fifteen cantrefs of Gwynedd, Vene-
dotia, or North Wales, and contained the parishes of
Llandysul, Llanmerewig, Llanllwchaiarn, Newtown,
Aberhafesp, Bettws, Tregynon, Llanwyddelan,Manafon,
and part of Berriew.

Llanllugan, which is a manor of itself, went with the
above to make up the cantref

The cantref, however, though situated in Powys
Wenwynwyn, and reckoned as part of it at the survey

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PAKOCEilAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON. 5

made by Llewellyn ap Griffith, Prince of Wales, never
formed part of the dominions of the Princes of Powys
Wenwynwyn. Each cantref had two commotes, with
their Courts of Justice, and the parish of Tregynon was
governed under Welsh laws up to the time of John or
Henry II ; but subsequently the feudal system took
the place of the old Welsh laws, the Welsh Prince
having submitted to the English King, and thereby
surrendered his royal prerogatives.

The Barony of Powys was subsequently one of the
Lordships of the Marches of Wales.

It was the custom of early English kings to grant
lands in Wales to those of their subjects who were
successful in wresting them from the Welsh Princes ;
and those who did succeed in subduing the inhabitants
along the Welsh Marches, ruled over them more after
the manner of kings than of simple lords.

Cedewain seems, however, to have been more for-
tunate than its neighbouring manors, and to have
passed, though not without a struggle, by the marriage
of Hawys Gadarn, or Hawys the Hardy, born in 1291,
daughter of the last Prince of Powys, Griffith ap Owen,
otherwise known as Griffin de la Pole, with John
Cherleton, gentleman of the bedchamber of Edward II,
and eldest son of Kobert de Cherleton of Cherleton, in
the parish of Wrockwardine, in the county of Salop.

In the year 1309, Walter of Gloucester, the King's
Escheator, took in hand the lands of Griffith, son and
heir of Owen de la Pole, deceased.

The inquest was held at **La Pole" on Aug. 10,
1309, when it appeared that he possessed, amongst
others, lands in Kellemok and Kumyon : Kellemok,
doubtless, was the Grange of Gelynog, in the parish of
Tregynon, and Kumyon would be Tregynon.

The heiress Hawys being persecuted by her own
relatives, the English King sent Roger de Mortimer to
her rescue. Roger de Mortimer had got possession
by conquest of Dolforwyn Castle in 1273, and held
Cedewain in 1310 (for we then find him raising 200

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6 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

men from this manor), and his interests were closely
bound up with those of John de Cherleton and Hawys
his wife.

A stained glass window in St. Mary's Church at
Shrewsbury survives to commemorate Hawys and her
husband John de Cherleton, and bears the following
inscription in old Norman -French.

^' Pries p' Mods' Johan de Charleton q* fist faire Casta
verrura et p'^ Dame hawis sa companion."

(" Pray for Monsieur John de Charleton, who caused this glass
to be made, and for Dame Hawis his companion.'*)

The stronghold of this manor was the Castle of
Dolforwjm ; and Mr. Richard Williams, in his account
in the Montgomeryshire Collections (vol. xxviii, p. 145),
says that there was a castle here between the years
1065 and 1073, and this appears to have been super-
seded by another, " built about 1242 by Dafydd ap
Llewelyn, which in its turn was taken by Roger de
Mortimer about 1278".

The existing walls are said to be the work of Roger
de Mortimer.

The Mortimers were relatives of William the Con-
queror, and accompanied him in his expedition to
England, and soon after found their way into the
Welsh Marches, and took possession of the lands of
Edric the Saxon, whom he had subdued. They held
this manor for many generations. On the last male
Mortimer dying in 1424, without issue, his possessions,
including Tregynon, passed to his sister Anne, widow
of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, and mother of Richard,
Duke of York, the father of Edward IV and
Richard III.

It must have been about this time that the Blayneys
first settled at Gregynog. The first mention we have
of them being the name of " Evan Blayney of Tre-
genon", as eighteenth on the burgess roll of Welsh-
pool, 7th June, 7 Henry IV [1406J ; and as I propose
to add later on a sketch of this important family, this

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 7

brief outline of the ancient history bearing on the
parish shall close with the following eariy allusions to
it, borrowed from an article by Mr. Richard Williams
in vol. ii of the Montgomeryshire Collections.

[1236]. '* Y flwyddyn honno y bu farw Owain ab Maredudd
ab Eotbert o Gedewain.'* (" That year died Owain ab Meredith
ab Robert of Cedewain.")

('*Bruty Tywysogion", Myv. Arch., 645.)

[1247]. " Y flwyddyn honno y Cafas Owain ab Eotbert
Gedewain ei ddylyed." (" That year Owain ab Eobert obtained
possession of Cedewain, which was his due.'') — Ibid., p. 646.

[1277]. " Y rhai hynny a ddodes Gruffydd ab Gwenwynwyn
i oresgyn ei gyfoeth a Gollasai cyn no hynny gan adael i'r
brenhin Gedewain a Cheri a Gwerthrynion a Baellt." (" Them
did Grafiydd ab Gwenwynwyn bring to recover his possessions
which he had lost, leaving to the King Gedewain^ Kerry,
Gwerthrynion and Builth.") — Ihid.^ p. 650.

He also gives the following references from old Welsh
poets —

" Dwyn Cedewing deg Duw a'i nertba."
" Cynnydd Llewelyn mab Gruflfudd'*.

D. Benfrasa'i Cant {Myv. Arch,, 224).
(** To win fair Gedewain, Gkxi give him strength.")

" A Chedewaiu gy wrain gwbario [yn ymgyweirio ?] yn gedym."
("Englynion Cynneddfu Parthau Cymry," Ibid., 357.)
(" And Cedewaiu skilfully disposes itself in brave array.")

" Gweler dan ei faner fo
Ddeunawtir, 'nhwy ddon' ato ;
Cedewain a Chaer Einion
Ceri ac Arwystli gron."

(Lewis Glyn Cotbi, p. 32.)

(** Under his banner shall be seen

Twice nine lands, and to him shall they come ;

Cedewain and Caereiuion

Kerry and compact Arwystli.")

** Aeth Cedewain yn eithin
Ceri a aeth yn wydd Crin."
(" Cedewain is overgrown with Gorse
Kerry is become full of withered shrubs.'*)

Ibid., p. 38.

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8 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

In 1514 Sir Rd. Herbert was Receiver of the Manor,
and we find leuan Lloid ap Meredith ap loUen, Ringild
of Tregenon, paying him the sum of £31 145. 8c/.

Boundaries and Extent.

The Inclosure Award gives the following boundaries
of the parish : —

From a point on the Bechan Brook almost opposite
to Glanbechan Farm in Bettws parish, the boundary
follows, in a north-westerly direction, up the course of
the Bechan, skirting Bettws village to the mouth of
Cwm Harry Brook, and up its course as far as Felinfach
Brook to a pool at Stingwern. Here lies a detached
portion of the parish called Little Stingwern. From
the aforesaid pool we go west down a watercourse
called Haley Brook (whence the name of the township,
Aberhaley) towards Tygwealt ; leaving the brook
and going in a more northerly direction we pass a
spot marked on the Inclosure Award as " Revd.
John Pryce's Noble's Worth of Ground ", and passing
Cefntwlch Common we come to the River Rhiew,
thence in a westerly direction up a brook running
through Tynyshettin Farm and almost through the
farmyard of the Argoed, up a dingle to Nant Bryn
Coch, to a comer called Caegarw, and on to the hills,
leaving the Dairy Farm on the left, almost in a straight
line, passing the Heath Farm on our left, to a stone
called Groes Issa, thence to another stone called Groes
Ucha, and on to its extreme western point marked
by a stone — thence it turns sharp back at an angle
of 25 degrees, almost in a straight line, passing,
1st a pointed stone, 2nd another pointed stone, and
3rd a similar stone, through Ffrwdwen fold to three
stones, thence to Tynycraig Well — and along the
Abbot's Ditch J which lies south-west of Borfahafod to a
streamlet called Waen y blew Rill, thence to a stone
south of Cefnllydan on the roadside from Bwlchyflfrydd

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PAKOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 9

to Cefallydan, thence it crosses the Wern bottom, pass-
ing on to the Black House Common, through a wood,
being there marked by a few rows of Scotch firs; thence
passing three stones on Pen-Uanlikey Common it
reaches an erect stone called Garreglwyd. Here the
boundary makes a turn almost at right angles, going
east, and passes on in a straight line to a small brook
down which it runs, through Caecappin farmyard to
Caecappin Dingle ; then turning along the road to
Waensarneu, opposite the cottage of that name, it
branches down the lane past Pantmawr and across the
road from Highgate to Bettws, along the Bryn lane to
a pool, and through another pool lower down, it follows
a hedgerow, eventually reaching the point from which
we started.

Extent op Parish.

According to the New Ordnance Survey, the area
of the parish, printed on the 6-in. map, is 7020 acres ;
but the tithe map of 1841 only gives 6760 acres.
The diflferent farms and holdings, etc., are given later
on, and their total area is 6874 acres, being nearer
the tithe award total than that on the Ordnance
Maps. The writer cannot account for the difference.
The population in 1891 was 586.
The area of the three townships, a^ given in the tithe
award, is —

A. R. p.
Aberhaley. . . . 2,375 2 G

Pwllan .... 1,448 2 30
Llanvechan . . . 2,936 1 1

Divided roughly thus :-

Arable

Pasture and meadow .

Wood

Mountain land

Roads, water, etc., etc.

6,760 1 37

2,165 acres

2,820 „

750 „

890 „

135 „

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PABOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

The area subject to tithe is given in the award as
5891 acres, thus : —

Arable

Pasture

Woods

2,263 acres
2,872 „
756 „

Coming to a more minute division we have the
following farms in the parish, with their respective
acreages — according to the New Ordnance Survey.

K. P.

Aberclawdd, part of .

110

2 5

Argoed, part of .

1 4

Birchen House

Black House, part of .

228

2 30

Borfa Hafod, part of .

2 39

Brithdir . . . .

216

Bronhafod . . . .

139

3 34

Bronrhys . . . .

Bwlch cae haidd, part of

Caecappin, part of .

1 22

Caecappin, part of .

3 8

Castle Hill . . . .

3 16

Ceftillydan, part of .

346

Church House

108

2 6

Coedmadoc . . . .

2 32

Cochshidan

3 5

Court . . . .

1 4

Crex . . . ,

2 5

Cwm cignant

2 7

Cwm Harry

Cwm Earl . . . .

3 27

Dairy

3 8

Dol-y-Melin .

139

1 1

Fir House .

271

1 39

Ffridd-wen .

139

3 17

Frwdwen, part of

111

1 22

Garreglwyd, part of .

Glanbecban, part of

3 5

Gwia

Qregynog Hall, part of

148

2 16

Gregynog Home Farm

175

2 21

Gwaen-tre-beddau

170

3 29

Hafod talog .

137

2 37

Heath

2 10

House and smith's shop and laud

3 28

Concrete Cottages

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1 22

PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

In hands of Lord Sudeley

Lane, part of . . .

Llwynmelyn

112

Lower Fachwen

Lower Wem, part of .

Neuadd l^yd

328

Nursery

New House .

117

Pantraawr, part of

Penllan-lleucu, part of

Pontyperchill, part of

Portmans

Pyllan

3 24

Rectory

Red House .

325

Rhosgoch .

203

Rock House, part of

Saw Mill and Cottage, etc., etc. .

Sheep Walks (not included in farms)

226

Small holdings

Smith's land, near Bwllchyffrydd

Temperance Hotel

Tygwealt, part of

102

Tyn-y-banadl

Tyn-y-bryn .

226

Tyn-y-shettin, part of .

150

Tyn-y-graig, part of

T^-y-twll .

Upper Fachwen, part of

155

WaenPant .

Waensameu, part of .

Walk Mill .

Whitegates .

Woods, enclosed

372

Total of the Gregynog estate

. 6079

Overseers of the Poor .

Cefntwlch (Mr. Lewis) .

Bettws Hall Estate (Mr. H. Owen)

105

„ Rhosbant (Mr. H. Owen

) 31

Rock (Major Corbet- Winder)

105

Stingwem (Major Corbet- Winder)

.. ( » )

Vachir ( „ )

Bonkin (Mr. E. Stephens)

Cefngwernfa (Col. K. J. Harrison)

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R. P.

100

1 17

2 10

2 3

2 32

1 2

2 U

1 15

12 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Coed-y-perth (Mr. T. Sturkey)

New Houses

Cwm Harry (Capt. Johnes)

Dry Hall (Col. E. J. Harrison)

Two chapels .

Church and Churchyard

Roads, waste

Surface.

The surface of the parish is decidedly undulating ;
an American would liken it to " foot hills". There are
no high peaks, but the land gradually rises from its
extreme southern point to about 1,200 ft. on the
Tregynon Hills.

The soil is a medium loam, here and there interspersed
with a few peaty spots. The soil on the hill is thin,
poor and wet, and grows little but rushes and the most
inferior grasses, suitable only to the hardy hill sheep
and mountain ponies. Stingwern Hill rises at the
north-eastern side of the parish to about 1,100 ft. above
the sea level, from whence a very fine view of the
surrounding country is obtained.

The parish is well wooded, and in olden days was
noted for its fine oak timber, much of which even now
remains, especially round about Gregynog Hall. Oak
is still the predominant tree : ash, wych elm, and firs
flourish well. In the garden dingle, near Gregynog
Hall, are some very large firs. A larch tree 126 ft.
high, and a spruce tree 123 ft. high, are amongst the
largest — if not the largest — trees of this kind in the
British Isles. A list of famous trees appeared quite
recently in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural
Society, giving the height of the largest trees in dif-
ferent localities, none of which were as high as those
mentioned above.

Of rivers there are none, but a fine brook — the
Bechan — takes its source on the Tregynon Hills and
runs through the parish, passing Bettws, and emptying
itself into the Severn at Abeibechan.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 13

There are several public turbaries in the parish, one
near Frwdwen, on the Tregynon Hills, and one on Black
House Hill, and another near Tynygraig. The two
former are hardly ever used, but the latter is still used
by a few farmers on the hills for cutting peats.

There are still to be found portions of the old hill or
common lands uncultivated in the midst of cultivated
lands : such as the Warren, known of old as the Gregy-
nog Common, Black House Common, and the Bonkin.

One of the characteristics of the district is the pre-
valence of conspicuous clumps of trees on the highest
points, such as Borfahafod firs, Cefngwifed, PwUan,
Caetymawr and Gregynog.

There are no lakes in the parish ; that at Gogwia,
which was constructed about forty years ago, no longer
exists, as the embankment which impounded its waters
gave way and emptied its contents into the valley ;
and there stands no other sign of its existence than the
embankment, with a great gap in the midst, through
which its waters had burst.

Geology.

Tregynon is in the upper Silurian series, its rocks
on the north-east being classed as Taranon or pale
shales, and on the south-western as Wen lock rocks.
There are very few fossils in these series, and the
rocks lie in bands of soft shale with hard beds in-
terspersed. These are much tilted, cropping out on
the headlands, and where this occurs the land is diy
and sound.

There are several quarries where good hard stone is
obtained, such as Tynygraig, the Warren, and on Black
House and Portman s farms.

No minerals have been worked with the exception of
barytes, which is found in strong veins on the Upper
Fachwen farm. This has been but little exploited,
though its presence is assured by cuttings and shafts
having been sunk to prove the veins. Of lead there

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14 PAROCHIAL HIwSTORY OP TREGYNON.

are no doubt indications ; a fine lump was unearthed
about the year 1878 by workmen digging out the
foundations for the new cottages in the village. There
is a popular tradition that the wonderful Van lodes
run in the direction of Blackhouse Farm, on the south
side of the parish.

The whole parish seems to be wonderfully well
watered, springs being found in all directions.

The best known of these is the Holy Well and the
Bonkin, where a beautifully pure water issues from
the side of the hill, in never- failing quantity.

Productions.
Of cereals the chief productions are oats, wheat, and
barley. The first forms the greatest bulk, wheat
having, as elsewhere, fallen greatly in the quantity
grown, owing to recent low prices, but twenty years
back a much larger area was sown. Rye is not gi'own.
On the open sheep-walks of Tregynon Hill can still
be seen the ridges thrown up by the plough : whether
these are what are known as ** Gryniau'r Gwyddelod"
(Ridges of the Gaels), thrown up during the cultivation
of this out-of-the-way district, for the growth of small
patches of corn by the ancient Gaels or Irish, it is hard
to say. No living person has ever heard of corn being
grown in their lifetime on these exposed hills. Turnips
are grown, but not to any large extent. Potatoes are
not grown for sale, and mangels but very little. In the
account of the late Arthur Blayney a curious entry is
found bearing on the cultivation of the turnip, which
about this time was becoming a field crop. It is as
follows : " 1 May 1795. George Chune bill for Hurdles
from Dunnant Manafon, bo* with a view to give to the
Tenants to encourage the culture of Turnips £30."
This was one of the last acts of kindness and shrewd
forethought of that noble old man, whose end came so
soon in the following October, leaving others to reap
the benefit of his liberality. Of cattle but few of the
old Welsh breed are now to be seen ; those of the

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREOYNON. 15

Hereford breed having almost entirely taken their
place. Sheep are a source of much profit, the breeds
being the Welsh, Kerry Hill and cross-breds, large
numbers finding pasturage on the unenclosed sheep-
walks of the upper parts of the parish.

The agricultural horse is a fine specimen, and can
bear comparison for strength and activity with any part
of the British Islands. The mountain ponies, too, form
a large equine band. It is said of Mr. Arthur Blayney
that he " collected and maintained a fine breed of strong
and active, but not tall horses, which he considered as
the true posterity of the stud of Robert de Belesme,
third Norman Earl of Shrewsbury". Of this Robert de
Belesme it is said that he brought over Andalusian
horses to improve the breed ;^ and coming further down
we find Queen Elizabeth keeping a stud of horses at
Park near Caersws, and sundry amusing stories of the
" round up" of her ponies by the officer in charge of
them. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, also intro-
duced Spanish horses into these parts, he being the
owner of the Manor of Arwystli. With such patrons we
cannot be surprised at the ponies of this district still
keeping up their good name.

The lesser animals are hardly worth mentioning, but
yet one cannot avoid mentioning here once more the
name of Arthur Blayney, who, if history errs not, was
a great collector of ducks and chickens ; as Yorke tells
us the pond in his farmyard was crowded with his
feathered friends ; but he had one peculiarity, in that
he insisted upon all his tenants keeping white fowls,
and rated them soundly if they did not carry out his
wishes.
Timber of fine quality is found here. Oak, ash,

1 ** In the third district of Wales, called Powys, there are most excel-
lent studs put apart for breeding, and deriving their origin from some
fine Spanish horses, which Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury,
brought into this country : on which account the horses sent from hence
are remarkable for their majestic proportions and astonishing fleetness."
— Giraldus Cambrensis, Itinerary^ Bohn, 464.

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16 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

wych elm, sycamore, larch, spruce, Scotch 6r, and silver
fir flourishing — mention has already been made of some
of these specimen trees.

It is to be noted that the common or Worcester elm
is not to be found in the parish — not a single specimen
exists. The alder grows profusely in damp places and
by the side of the brooks, and is much sought after
by clog makers, who camp out alongside the water,
and convert the timber into clogs for the Lancashire
market.

Bricks are, and have been, made in many places, and
are of good quality.

The old woollen industry has completely died out,
and what used to be a staple trade, carried on in every
farm-house, is now no more — a few old spinning-wheels
laid away in attics alone point to a time when, after
working hours, in the winter months, the whole family
sat spinning or weaving the wool from the backs of
their own sheep. Machinery has completely knocked
this industry on the head.

In this section of the history of our parish the pro-
ducts of the land have been treated of, and perhaps it
will not be out of place to quote here an old Agreement
wherein the rules for holding farms are given. It is
usual to consider that Agreements for farms were the
exception and not the rule ; but the writer has a book
containing more than fifty, ranging only from 1773
to 1779. The following is dated 29th Sept. 1773.

" Articles of Agreevient between Arthur Blayney, Esq., and
Edwd, Lloyd, yeoman.

*' That the said Arthur Blayney doth Let to sd. Edward Lloyd
the House & Lands called Argoed & Pencoed in the Parishes of
Llanwythellen & Tregunnon with the appurtenances from the
fifth day of April 1774, for one year, and so from year to year
as long as both Parties shall like.

" That sd. Edward Lloyd shall pay to the sd. Arthur Blayney
forty guineas Rent at the usual half-yearly Times of payment
clear of all Taxes & Deductions whatever.

" That he shall use the Farm in a Course of good Husbandry

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON. 17

and lay down the stubbles with grass seeda with the second
crop of Lent grain and shall consume all the Profits upon the
premises.

'^Thnt the succeeding tenant shall have Liberty to come
upon the premises to do all reasonable Acts of Husbandry at
Seasonable Times.

** That He shall keep the Thatch & Glasing in good Repair.

" That He shall not Lop or Crop Timber Trees or take any
Boots (except reasonable fire Boot) without the Assignment of
sd. Arth. Blayney.

"That he shall fill up gaps round his Corn & Grain with
Quick and plash and Ditch and not- top the Edges, in Witness
whereof Both Parties hereunto set their Hands this 29th Day
of Septem'. 1773.

" Ar. Blayney

" Witness, Saml. Magee. " Edwaed LLoyd."

The term '* Boot", is a curious term, not in use now,
and the meaning is unknown by the modern farmer.
In all probability it means timber or wood for sale.
The writer has seen the terms " Fire Boote", " Hedge
Boote", ** House Boote", used in a document dated
1546.^

Out of the fifty-three agreements contained in the
book above mentioned, thirteen of the tenants are
styled ** yeoman". In the agreements following the
above, a clause is inserted as to leaving " the Customary
share of the Corn growing on the Premises", and that
the tenant shall " keep the Buildings in Repair", as
well as the '* gates and stiles" ; and in one is the con-
dition that '* He shall carry at least 4 Wain Loads of
Turf to Burn in the House each year." Why this is
stipulated seems obscure. It may, however, have been
intended to restrict the use of fire "Boot" and reckless
using of timber for firing.*

1 It is derived from the mediaeval Latin term " botum", defined as
" lignum quodvis fractum vel usu detritum", i.e., any broken or used-
up timber. — Ed. Mont Coll.

^ The high reputation of Montgomeryshire timber for the use of the
Navy had by this time greatly enhanced its value. — (Vol. xxix, 125,
Ibid,)

VOL. XXX. U

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pakochial history op trbqynon.
Population of Trbgynon Parish.

In-
habited
Houses.

1801
1811
1821
1831
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891

FamiliL.' Males. I Females.

121

289

114

322

117

129

362

181

164

382

—

371

129

123

128

390

110

—

296

8 em

9 uni

pty

jihabited

360
336
352
353
338

318
290

Families

em-
ployed in

Agri-
culture.

Families

in
Trade.

Families
not in

two pre-
ceding

columns.

„

86
92
87

27
27
34

1
10
44

—

689
658
714
740
709
718
703
709
708
586

The falling-off of the population in 1891 is partly
accounted for by the stoppage of work carried on at the
saw mills, which during the preceding few years had
been conducted as a commercial enterprise for con-
verting timber into planks, barrows, bobbins, and other
manufactured articles. In 1879 the agricultural de-
pression commenced and the agricultural population
decreased, but was kept up by additional workmen
employed in the large building operations undertaken
by the present Lord Sudeley on his estates. At the
completion of these works, and with a large diminution
of agricultural hands, the population in 1891 has
fallen to its lowest point, namely, 586.

In 1676 a religious census was taken, and showed
265 Conformists, 3 Nonconformists, and no Papists.
Whether 268 was the adult population only, or the
full population, is doubtful ; but in all probability it
was the full population, so much of the county being
then mere sheep-walks, and not enclosed till a much
later date.

Language Census.

1891

English only. Welsh only.
320 ... 48

Both.
187

Infants.
31

Total.
586

As to this census of 1891, the writer thinks the

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 19

number given (48) who could only speak Welsh must
be very much exaggerated.

Population.

In the Parish Registers is a note signed with the
initials J. D. (John Davies, curate of Tregynon), in
March 1801, giving some curious statistics for the
twenty-one years between 1780 and 1800, viz. : —

" Number of BaptisiUB from 1 780 inclusive, to end of year 1.800.
Males 184
Females 200

Total 384, of which number 46 were illegitimate.

" Number of Biurials from 1780 inclusive, to end of 1800.
Males 91
Females 98

Total 189
*^ Increase of population in 20 years is 195 souls.
" No. of marriages m same space was 100."

This shows a very large increase in so small a parish,
and would give us the population in 1780 as 444, as
compared with 639 in 1801, or an increase of over
40 per cent. This was, no doubt, due to the remarkable
progress which had set in about this time in agriculture,
which led to a far better and more extended cultivation
of the land, and so increased the demand for labour.

Inhabitants, Roads, etc.

Almost all the inhabitants speak English ; those
speaking Welsh are chiefly on the north-west portion
of the parish. In the 1847 Blue Book on Education it
was stated that about one-half spoke Welsh. The
services in the church are conducted in English.

The farms are chiefly small, not more than ten being
above 200 acres in extent.

Much improvement has taken place in the roads
during the last thirty years; in fact, fifty years ago,

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20 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

there was hardly a farmer in the parish who possessed
a light cart with wheels — it is said there were only two
carriages in the county in 1 775. Nearly all the people
rode or walked to market, the women mounted on ** the
back of the pony", with a riding skirt thrown over the
walking dress, to be discarded on the arrival at the
town. The traffic formerly passed over the hilly road
to Newtown, but now goes chiefly by the new Bettws
and Cilgwrgan road, made in 1862 by the late Lord
Sudeley, who expended a very large sum on this
excellently-engineered road. To him, too, we owe the
new road which runs from Bwlchyffridd towards the
river Severn. Farm produce was carried home to the
stackyard on the ground car, even now to be seen in
use on the hills, it is a far cry to the times when the
roads were so dangerous to travel, that in the time of
Elizabeth no draper thought of leaving Oswestry to go
to Welshpool before the town bell tolled at 6 a.m., and
he had formed one of the party waiting for prayers to be
said for his safety on the road.

During recent years, a good many roads round about
Gregynog Hall have been altered and diverted, and the
travelling much facilitated.

A new road was made leading from BwlchyflFridd to
Rhydlydan Mill, to take the place of the old road
running by Glascoed.

The road from Cilgwrgan by Pontyperchill, Bettws,
Tregynon, and New Mills, was made between the years
1860 and 1863, the Cambrian Railway making the
bridge over the Severn. The late Lord Sudeley
widened the road from Aberbechan to Pontyperchill,
and made a new one by Glanbechan, Bettws, and
Tregynon to New Mills, costing about £3,000. Bridges
were built over the Bechan at Bettws, Brithdir, and
Tregynon.

There were two toll-gates : one at Aberbechan, near
the canal, and one near the Pant, the tolls from which
went to the Cambrian Railway, to pay them a certain
interest on their outlay oathe bridge ; the remainder, if

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON. 21

any, was to go to Lord Sudeley, but his lordship never
profited thereby.

In 1885 the tolls were abolished by arrangement
with the Cambrian Railway, Lord Sudeley contributing
£108 towards making up the £375 claimed by the
Company.

In the year 1850, certain highways were stopped by
order of Quarter Sessions, and others opened. Those
stopped up were : a road leading from the Upper
plantation on the north-west of the Hall to Gregynog,
and up the present warren, passing under Cefngwifed ;
and another road leading from Bwlchyffridd towards
the upper Wern, and passing by Portmans, and so
towards Black House. To compensate the inhabitants
for these diversions a new road was made in 1850, from
near Fir House, going north-east to the village, and
another from Cefngwifed Cottage to Black House.

The people about the year 1840 dressed very simply,
the men on Sunday wearing smock-frocks, knee-breeches,
gaiters and white hats. The women wore linsey
dresses, a common bonnet over a cap, with a frill
showing at its edge, and a red shawl tied over the
shoulders. The dresses were invariably short, showing
the ankle and foot.

The high hat for women seems not to have been
common.

The people lived most plainly, far more so than now.
Meat was hardly ever indulged in except at harvest
time ; nor was beer drunk except at harvest, butter-
milk being the chief beverage.

Nearly every farmhouse had its weaving establish-
ment, and half the rents or more were made from
weaving alone : farmers in those days working up all
their own wool, and even buying from outsiders.

It may not be out of the way to give a description here
of a typical farmhouse of the last century.

The houses were built almost invariably of oak frames,
with the panels filled in with plaster, made of mud
and straw mixed, and then coated over with white-

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22 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYKON.

wash ; or the panels were sometimes filled in with
wattled work and plastered, and in the buildings the
panels were often made of interlaced strips of thin wide
flakes of ash. The houses were built much on the
same plan, about 18 ft. wide. A kitchen, with a broad
open fireplace, with a wooden chimney, up which the
sky could be seen. To prevent fire a long stick was
kept, in order to knock down any sparks which might
lodge on the soot and so endanger the thatch.

There was generally a back kitchen, though not
always, a milk-house, pantry, and small parlour with-
out a fireplace.

The roof was made of split oak spars, thatched either
with straw or broom. Wood or peat was universally
burnt. The floors were made of pebbles, often set in
patterns, or a mud floor beaten hard by use.

The windows to bedrooms were small, and often had
no casement to open, and the bedrooms were open to
the bare thatch above. No iron nails were used, but
oak pins took their place.

The bedrooms generally opened one into another, and
were placed in this way : the master and mistress
slept in their bedroom at the head of the stairs, and
the women in the rooms on one side and the men on
the other side ; a very common arrangement in the
old country houses of the gentry in the sixteenth
century.

Education.

There is a handsome school and schoolmaster's house
in the village, built in 1871, with an average attend-
ance of about seventy scholars. We may well rejoice
in the wonderful strides made in the education of the
younger members of our parish. The following reports,
taken from the Blue Books of 1833 and 1847, show a
most deplorable state of things, even at so short a
distance as fifty years ago.

1833—*' Tregynon Parish (Pop. 740).
'' One daily school, commenced 1833, contaias 29 males and

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY O^ TREOYNON. 23

33 females, and is supported by a salary from the Trustees of
the late Mrs. Bevan. Two Sunday Schools, wherein 138 males
and 97 females are instructed gratuitously by Calv. Methodists.'^

1 847 — Appendix A. Tregynon.

" This Parish contains 709 inhabitants, consisting of Weavers
and Agricultural labourers. The latter are represented as
being for the most part poor, and unable to pay anything for
the instruction of their children .^^

The following school is principally promoted by Lord Sudeley.
It is in connection with the Established Church, but the children
of Dissenters are not required to learn the Church Catechism.

Trerjynon Ghurch School,

" A school for boys and girls, taught together by a master,
in a school built for the purpose. Number of scholars, 66.
Subjects taught : reading, writing, arithmetic, and the Church
Catechism; fees, \d, to 4c2. per week, i examined this school
April 7th, when 35 children were present, 16 of whom were
about ten years of age. Four scholars were able to read a
verse of the New Testament, but could answer no questions
upon that or any other subject ; did not know who John the
Baptist was, what was his food, what clothing he wore, or how
he was put to death ; had heard something of St. Paul, but
could not recollect what that was ; could not say who were the
sons of Adam and Eve, or give any account of those persons ;
thought that the Book of Genesis was written by Exodus and
the Book of Exodus by Genesis; and believed that Prince
Albert was Queen of England : yet nearly all the children were
well conversant with English, which is spoken by nearly half
the inhabitants, and 14 could repeat parts of the Church
Catechism correctly. The master states that they receive no
instruction in Scripture, the Bible being used solely as a hand-
book to teach reading. He was unable, at my request, to
ask a single question upon the chapter which had been read,
but called me out of the room and stated that he had never
been in the habit of doing so. He appears to remain satisfied
with teaching the mechanical parts of reading, writing, and
ciphering, which, with a knowledge by rote of the Church
Catechism, constituted the amount of their attainments. He
was formerly a clerk in a grocer's establishment, and has
never been trained to teach or maintain discipline.

" The schoolroom was well furnished with pictures, but the
books and other materials, being purchased at the expense of

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGTNON.

the parents, were miscellaneous and of a very indifferent
description. The girls receive instruction in needlework. —
Abraham Thomas, Assistant."

The schoolroom in which such high attainments were
acquired has a history of its own. First a tithe-barn,
then a barracks, then a school, and now a humble
cottage !

The Church.

Ecclesiastical. — The Church.

The Parish Church stands in the village, and is dedi-
cated to St. Cynon, of whom we have already spoken,
and it doubtlessly dates back to the thirteenth century,
though little of the original fabric remains. A tradition
exists that there was another church on land now
forming part of Waentrebeddau farm, which deserves
but little credence.

Tregynon, being a cell of the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem, looked to Halston as its mother church. In
shape the church is oblong, measuring externally about
83 ft. long by 31 ft. wide, with a wooden belfry, erected
at a later date than the fine old roof, which is fifteenth-
century work, and through which it has been pushed.
This is clearly shown by the cutting away of parts of

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYKON. 25

the roof to allow the four great oak trees that support the
belfry to pass through. The belfry is entirely of oak,
with a slated roof, and contains one bell. Tradition
says that it once held another bell, which was borrowed
by the adjoining parish of Bettws, and which the good
folk of Bettws forgot to return.

The chancel is very small, measuring only 12 ft.
from the outside wall, which is over 3 ft. thick, and
leaving only 9 ft. or so for the full interior measure-
ment.

A portion of the west end was cut off to form a
vestry at the time the gallery was erected, i.e., 1770,
in which year the good people of Tregynon held a
vestry and passed the following resolution : —

'* Whereas there was a Vestry Called the 2 and held the
8 Day of December 1770. That the Inhabitans and Land-
houllders and the majority of Them of the Parish of Tregynnon
In the County of Montgomery That the said Inhabitans and
Landhoulders Doth Agree To Voluntary make a New Gallary
in the Church and Likewise to Sillo [ceil] the Boody of the
Church and to Inclose the Church from the Stepple — as witness
our several hands at this Vessttry

The oulld Euddy Lloffl

is to be Taken Down Intirly.

"Morg° Richards— Curate."

And nineteen other signatures.

This they proceeded to do, pulling down the old
rood loft, and ceiling in the fine oak roof, and cutting
off the belfiy end for a vestry.

A further resolution in Vestry shows the contract
to have been given to Humphry Williams, and the
price to be £10 10^. Od., with the timber ''reddy
sawed" for him, and 7d. a yard for the ceiling.

For this a 6d. rate was levied in 1770 and 1771.
Further restoration of the same artistic merit followed
in 1787, when the old windows of stone must have
been removed, and small wooden ones placed in their
stead — a few stones showing the old muUion tracery

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26 PAHOCfllAL fliStORY 01^ TREGYKoK.

came to light in the restoration of 1893. The walls of
the church seem to have been almost rebuilt in 1787.

In 1893 a thorough restoration took place; the old
high oak pews were removed, the floor taken out,
concreted and tiled ; the east and south windows taken
out, and a handsome stained glass window put in of
fifteenth-century character, and four south windows
of red Alveley stone substituted for the three previous
wooden frames : and the whole of the church was
reseated and remodelled.

In carrying out the restoration, a fine pointed arch
to the doorway was brought to light, on the side stones
of which appear the arrow marks made by the ancient
archers sharpening their arrows. This arch was restored
to its original plan. No signs of any north windows
or priest's door were found ; but on removing the large
wooden monument to the Blayney family from the
south corner of the east wall, a fresco with a black-
letter text was discovered, containing a fragment of
1 Cor. xi, 28, 29.

'* Let a man examine himself and so let him eate of that
bread and drink of that Gnp, for he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not des-
cerning the Lord's Body."

At the right-hand side of this panel could be seen a
few faint letters belonging to some older writing, and
even under the whitewash there appeared others.

The old oak roof is the only real architectural feature
of the church. There are nine almost semicircular
principal frames, five of one form and four of another ;
the latter being simpler and without the two diagonal
struts.

It has been conjectured that this portion, covered in
by the four plain principals, marked the old church. It is
known that ancient churches were built beginning from
the east end and working westward, and the very
small length of the chancel may perhaps be thus
accounted for.

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t>AkOCHIAL ttlSTORY OF TREOYNOK.

In taking off the old plaster there was an undoubted
break to be seen in the wall. It is probable that the
masonry stopped short under the fourth plain prin-
cipal, looking as though this was the west end of the
earlier church.

The roof, constructed entirely of oak — no iron or
nails having been used — is now seen restored to its
original form and beauty, and adds immensely to the
proportions of the church.

The old Font, now in the garden at the Rector's

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28 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

house, was found by the writer in use in a back kitchen
as a sink I It is a plain six-sided font of red sandstone,
each side being a square of 14 ins., and of a very early
date.

The wooden memorial tablet to the Blayneys was
fixed to the south side of the east wall, and underneath
the chancel floor was found the family vault.

This monument is of interest, as it gives a good deal
of family history, and reads thus : —

*' Here lyeth the body of David Lloyd Blayney of Gregynogg
Esqr. son to Thomas Blayney by Marg't sister to Edward
Herbert of Montgomery Esqr. interr d An : D : 1595 : Also
Eliz'th ye wife of Da. Llo : Blayney Esqr. daughter of Lewis Jones
of Bishops Castle Esqr., inter'd A'n : 1590 who left issue,
Lewis, S'r Edw : Blayney afterwards L'd Blayney in ye king-
dom of Ireland and Lucy ye wife of Morris Owen of Rhew-
sauson Esqr. also ye body of Lewis Blayney inter'd An'o 1600,
also Elizth ye wife of John Pryce of Newtown Esqr. daugh'r to
Bhees Blayney of Abberbechan Esqr. An'o 1603, also Bridg* ye
wife of Lewis Blayney, daugh'r to John Pryce of Newtown
Esqr. An'o 1630, also ye Body of John Blayney Esqr. who
faithfully served and suffered for ye Royall martyr, he was son
of Lewis Blayney Esq. An'o 1655. Also Eliz*h ye wife of John
Blayny Esqr. sole daughV of Jenkin Lloyd of Berthlloyd Esqr.
by his wife Joyce Herbert sister to Edw*d L'd Herbert of
Cherbu'y An'o 1662. Also S'r Arthur Blayney K*t Banneret
2d son of Edw'd L*d Blayney of Castle Blayney in ye Kingdom
of Ireland, who served ye Royall martyr K. C. ye first in ye post
of Coll : of Horse An'o 1659, also Dame Joyous Blayney sole
Dau^h'r and heiress of John Blayney and widow of S'r Arthur
Blayney An'o 166 L Also ye Body of Capt. Andr. Blayney 2d
son of Lewis Blayney An'o 1678. Also Henry Blayney Esq.
son of S'r Arthur Blayney An'o 1691 also Mary Blayney widow
of Henry Blayney Esq. and daugh'r to ye Rever'd Dr. Sidney
D.D. by his wife Eliz'h daugh'i: to Richard Blunden Esqr. of
Bishops Castle which said Mary left issue one son and seven
daughters Anno 1707. Also Anna Maria ye daughter of John
Blayney Esq. by Ann his wife An'o Dom. 1709."

This tablet was removed in 1893 to the north side of
the west end ; and the accompanying fragmentary
Text was brought to light.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYXON.

_-^<d ej»8mine
of tfiat fttjT - j">

notWrremittpr

Wall-Painting at Tregynon Church.

On the north side of the east wall is a marble
memorial tablet to the late Arthur Blayney, Esq., of
Gregynog, by Bacon, R.A., with an inscription as
follows : —

*' Sacred to the memory of Arthur Blayney, Esq.> who during
a long life passed at Gregynog, devoted his Time and Fortune
and his Talents to the good of Mankind, and this neighbourhood
in particular ; by his spiritedly and generously promoting works
of great Public Utility ; by the constant Exercise of liberal
Hospitality, by a fatherly attention to his Tenants and Depen-
dants, by patiently and skilfully reconciling Differences, by
largely encouraging Industry and Merit and by relieving most
bountifully the Poor and the Distressed. He died Oct. 1,
1795."

The following are the names of the Curates of
Tregynon down to 1862. In 1868 the living was made
a Rectory : —

1591. "Thomas Corbett, clerk"; witness to will of William
hje,—M(mt. Coll., 1892, p. 15.

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30 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

Circa 1595. David Blayney, Cler., Curate of Tregynon; Bondsman to
the will of Roger Warde, Oct. 7, 1695.
1621. Lewis Rees Reynolds, Clarke; witness to will of Jane
verch Hugh, 1621.
Circa 1648. John Davies,* presented at Quarter Sessions, 1654, "for
reading the book of Common Prayer". — Mont ColLy
1874.
** John Kyflfin CPre of Manaron was presented for the same cause."
1678. John Gwynne.

1680. John Evans.

1681. Richard Morgan.

1689-1697. Richard Mercer, Vr. Choral St. Asaph, 1702;
Rr. Aberhafesp, 1705-24.

1697. Richard Morgan.

1698. Richard Savage.
1705. Richard Morris.

1702.1714. John Trevor, Rr. of Llanwyddelan, 1687-1734.

1714-1720

1720. Qeorge Holland.

1 745. Rees Saunders.

1747-1786. Morgan Richards.

1786-1791. Walter Price.

1791-1798. John Price. The Terrier gives John Price in 1791 ;

Vr. Bettws, 1817.
1799. John Davies (of Fronfelen).
1816. John Jones.

1816. John Barnard; C. Llandrinio, 1799 ; Vr. Bettws, 1814.
1818. John Price Drew (of Milford, Newtown).

1841. Thomas W. Johnes.

1842. Rd. Wma Morgan (author of Veritici of the Church,

etc.).
1853-1862. Augustus Field (M.A., Vr. of Pool Quay, 1863-86;
Rr. Lydbury North, 1886).

Rectors.
1862-1885. Evan Alfred Jenkin (M.A., Gonville and Cains Coll.,

Cambridge).
1885-1893. John Thomas (B.A., Rr. Efenechtyd, 1893).
1893. Wm. Vaughan Jones (M.A., Ch. Coll., Camb.).

These names are taken from the signatures in the
Parish Registers.

1 " Wee doe present John Davies of Tregynon in the said County
Cl6r., for y't hee upon the xxiiij day of September 1654, being the
Lords day and beeing the minister here, did reade the booke of
comon prayer or greate p'te thereof openly in the p'ishe Church of the
said p'ish."

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNOK. 31

List of Books, Deeds and Papers found in the
Parish Box, April 1895.

Hate Books for the years 1838 to 1893 inclusive; excepting only
1855,1867, 1864-78, 1882.

Overseers' Accounts from 1743 to 1895 inclusive; excepting 1808
and 1849-1867.

Churchwardens* Accounts, 1774 to 1872, with names of Church-
wardens from 1772 to 1877.

Vestri/ Minute Books, 1800 to 1843.

Highway RaU Book, 1842 to 1855.

Valuation Lists : — Sporting, 1875; woods, 1875; general, 1882.

Supplemental Valuation Lists, 1879-1894.

Appeals aiid Corrections of Valuation Lists, 1879-1895.

Bundles of
Papers marked.

A. Old Valuation Lists.

B. Union Accounts from 1840 to 1863 ; a few years missing.

C. List of Paupers, 1841 to 1863 ; a few years missing.

D. Lists of Charity distribution, 1842-1893.

E. Acts of Parliament and Government Orders for Rates.
P. Churchwardens* Accounts, 1686 to 1786, not complete.

G. London Gazette^ containing notice of Tregynon made a
Rectory, 1868.

H. Apprentices* Indentures.

I. Bonds, etc., relating to Bastards.

J. Settlement Papers, Removal Orders, Bonds for Bastards, etc.,
and lists of same.

K. Settlement Certificates.

L. Oaths, Bunds, etc., for Bastards.

M. Apparently useless papers.

N. Do. do.

0. Papers relating to Bastards.

P. 1741. Lease of Cefntwlch, Sarah Rogers to Richard Tanner,
(Jeorge Syer, Churchwardens ; Caleb Tanner and Francis
Stephens, Overseers of the Poor of Tregynon. Sarah
Rogers, in consideration of 25«. paid to her by the
Churchwardens and Overseers, and an obligation of £20
to provide her with food and clothing and maintenance,
grants to the Churchwardens and Overseers of Tregynon
for ever — The House, Garden, Barn, and one Close of
arable land, containing about 1 acre, known as Ty

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32 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Sarah Rogers in Aberhaley, " to the use and behoofe of
the Poor."

Signed Sarah Roobrs.
In the presence of Richard Humphrey and

Ed. Blaynet.
Dated 1741.
Q. Bundle of Papers containing : —

1686. Agreement to repair Church roof for 20 years, at 11«.

per anu.
1694, 1707. Two Certificates of Burial in materials made

entirely of sheep's wool.
1705. Certificate.
1707. Receipt for Brief.

1707. Petition of poor man for help owing to loss by fire.
1721. Receipt for 2«., sent to sufferers by fire at Welshpool.

Paper re Apprentice.
1721, 1728, 1786. Old Church Briefs.
1729. Old Overseers' Account.
Memo, re Rates.

Papers re Order to pay for Bastard.
Old Rent Receipt.

1739. Churchwardens' Accounts.
Paper re Paupers.

1 740. Legal Opinion on Legacy of £5 from John Jones.
Four papers re militia.

1741. 1787. Old Receipt for £3 3«.

1 758. Bill for Legal Charges for Ejectment Case.

1774. Terrier of property belonging to Tregynon church

(see below).
1782. Cover of Mortgage Deed for £30 on Newtown and

Llanfair Turnpike Road, with a few unimportant

papers in it.

1795. Agreement for letting Cefntwlch.

1796. Be refusal to give Parish Relief.

1796. Two Apprentices* Indentures.

1797. Fine of £75 for not providing men for Army.
1813. Old Rent Receipt.

1831. Replevin Precept for unlawful Distress.

1836. Dr. Stayman's Bill for Wm. Roberts.

1837. Registrar-General's Order re Parish Registers.
Old Paper re Tithe with acreages.

Old Overseers' Account, undated.

1860. Agreement from Churchwardens and Overseers to

£d. Stephens.

1861. Agreement from Churchwardens and Overseers to

Wm. Richards and Rd. Jones.
R. Certificates re Settlement.
S. 1858. Memorandum on Parchment relating to the Hearse,

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON. 33

Names of Subscribers and conditions on which Hearse was

purchased, costs, etc.
T. 1879 to 1893. Overseers' Vouchers for payments by them out

of Rates.
U. 1879 to 1893. Churchwardens' Vouchers for payments out of

parish charity.

Terriers.

Tn the Parish Books, under Bundle marked Q, are the
following : —

[1774]. ** True Terrier of the Impropri[ate Chapel] of
Tre^ynnon in the Diocese ... St. Asaph made the 18th day
of July 1774, viz.: A great English ..... [Welsh] Bible,

one English and one Welsh Common Prayer Cloth

with a Cushion, one green cloth and one Linen

.... napkin for the Communion Table, one Silver G[oblet],
one P[ewter Chalice], one Chest with three Locks, two
Registers, and one [Bell]. Curate's stipend is £20 per annum,
paid by Arthur Blayiiy, Esq., Impropriator. Church and
Churchyard Fences are repaired by the Churchwardens at the
expence of the whole Parish. In the Churchyard are now
growing Seven young yew trees and Eleven young Fir trees,
the Clark's wages. Witness our Hand the day and year above
written.

" Morgan Richards, Curate.
■Thomas Solkt ) ^TanUn,."

"James Robkrts

}

[1791]. *^A true Terrier of all Lands, Messuages, Tenements,
and other Rights belonging to the Perpetual Curacy and Parish
Church of Tregynon in the County of Montgomery and Diocese
of St. Asaph, now in the use and possession of the Rovd. John
Pryce Curate thereof or his Tenants, taken made and renewed
according to the old evidences and the knowledge of the
ancient Inhabitants at a vestry holden this fourteenth day of
July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
ninety -one pursuant to duo and legal notice given in Church on
Sunday the third of the same month for that purpose and
exhibited in the primary Visitation of the Right Reverend
Father in God Lewis^ Lord Bishop of St. Asaph holden at
Welshpool on Friday July 15, 1791.

"The Church of Tregynon is a Perpetual Curacy. The

1 Lewis Bagot, 1790-1802.
VOL. XXX. D

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:U t>AROCfllAL fliStORY OF TRKGYNO!^.

Tyfchos both great and small are the property of the Impro-
priator Arthur Blayney Esquire paying to the Curate whom
ho nominates an annual Stipend of Twenty pounds. There is
a modus of Ten shillings and four pence paid by the Church
Wardens to the Impropriator or yearly in lieu of Tythe Hay of
the Whole Parish.

" There is no Parsonage House or ancient Glebe belonging
to the Curacy but in the year the Bounty came to it by Lot and
the Impropriator adding thereto a Benefaction of Two hundred
pounds obtained an addition of two hundred pounds more
from the Governors of Qaeen Anne's Bounty, and the whole
six hundred pounds (together with seventy pounds more given
by the Impropriator) was laid out in the purchase of a Farm
called Keoenhire situate in the Parish of Llanvihangele Nant
Mellen in the County of Radnor consisting of a Dwelling
House built with Stone and covered with Slates to which
adjoins an Outhouse used us a Wain House and Turf house
likewise built with Stone and covered with Slates which together
stand upon one hundred and twenty eight square yards of
ground. In the farmyard is another Outbuilding of five Bays
with an He or Shed adjoining thereto covering together two
hundred and five square yards of ground, part of which is built
with Stone and part with Timber and covered with Slates.
And sixty four Acres two Roods and twenty perches of Land
situated and bounded as described in the Plan or Map hereto
annexed which lands are inclosed and divided with Quick and
other wood fences. The Wood Lands mentioned in the map
contain only Brush Wood for fencing or fuel there being no
Timber Trees on the Land. To this Messuage appertains a
right of Common Pasture and Turbary on a waste immediately
adjoining a part of the said Land but the extent of this Right
of Common Pasture and Turbary has not been ascertained.
The Purchase and Title Deeds of this Estate are in the
Governor's OflBce.

*'The only trees in the Churchyard are Eleven Fir and
four Yew Trees planted by the Impropriator by way of Orna-
ment.

'' The Church and Churchyard fence are kept in repair at the
expence of the Parishioners generally except a certain part of
the Church called the Chanckl which is kept in repair by the
Impropriator and extends Twelve feet from the East end of
the Church measured from the Outside of the said wall. There
is the Church a folio Bible in English an English and Welsh
Common Prayer Book, a Surplice, a Velvet Cushion for the
Pulpit, a Linen ('loth and Carpet for the Communion Table, a

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t>AftOCHlAli HFSTORY OF TREG^NON. 35

Silver Chalice, a Pewter Flagon, and Plate, a Bell with its
appurtenances, a Bier and Funeral Cloth.

" John Pryce CI
Andrew Andrew^
The mark H of V Churchwardens,
Richard Hudson]

George Hudson Thoraas Andrew
Thomas Soley William Jones

Richard Oliver Thomas Davies

John Andrew Tho. CoUey."

A further Terrier was taken in 1856; the contents
of the first part of this is similar to the above, with
the following exceptions : —

In the Terrier of 1791 — It is stated that £70 was
added by the Impropriator, to £600 to purchase Keven-
hire, but in that of 1856 £50 only is so mentioned.

This farm is stated in the later Terrier to be " sub-
ject to a heriot of the best beast as to one part and to
ten shillings for a Heriot as to the other part". The
Modus and the Tithe Hay has disappeared in the later
Terrier, having been merged with all the Tithes belong-
ing to the then Lord Sudeley. It then goes on to
explain recent additions to the living as follows : —

" Besides the above Augmentation four lots amounting to
eig^ht hundred pounds came to the Parish of Tregynon in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and
with the above sura of eight hundred pounds together with
Interest amounting in all to eight hundred and twenty four
pounds, a farm called Carreg Arthur, situate in the Parishes of
Llanfair and Manafon — County of Montgomery — was bought
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
twenty nine. This Property is subject to Tithes. It consists
of a messuage or tenement and outbuildings and thirty six
acres and thirty four perches of ground, Arable Meadow and
Pasture-land and a Plantation.

*•' This farm is now let at an annual Rent of Eighteen pounds.
The Purchase and Title Deeds of this Estate are deposited in
the Governor's Office."

The terrier then runs the same as that of 1791,
except that it mentions only 3 yews in the churchyard
instead of 4.

D 2

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36 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

It then continues thus : ^' There is in the Church a
folio Welsh and Folio English Bible —three Folio Eng-
lish and two Folio Welsh Common Prayer Books, and
a Book of Offices. There are also two Surplices and a
Velvet hauj^ing for the Pulpit. There is a Linen and
also a Woollen Cloth for the Communion Table, and a
Carpet about the same. The Communion Plate consists
of two Silver Chalices, a Silver Patten, a Pewter Flagon
and Plate. There are also belonging to this Church a
Bell with its appurtences, a Bier,^ and a Funeral Cloth."

The Surplice Fees belong to the Perpetual Curate ;
they are as follows : —

Marriage — By License — fee paid to Clergyman, ten shillings ;
to the Clerk, five shillings.

Marriage — after Banns — Clergyman, five shillings ; Clerk,
half a crown.

Publication of Banns, one shilling; Clerk for making entry,
sixpence.

Burial fee paid to Clergyman, one shilling; Clerk and
Sexton, two shillings.

For extra parochial burials double fees are charged.

Churching of Women — Accustomed offering, one shilling;
Clerk, fourpence.

" We the undersigned believe this to be a true and faithful
Terrier of the Lands, Kent Charges, Fees and all other profits

^ In 1856 a Hearse was purchased for the Parish by vohintary
subscriptions, collected by a Committee appointed for the purpose ;
and in October of tbe same year the hearse was paid for as follows : —

£ 8. d.

Hearse

Four Plumcfs

4 3 6

Harness

Tolls paid

Cost of Deed .

7 2

Total 36 11 2

The record of this takes the form of a memorandum giving the
particulars of the purchase, but is not signed or stamped.

In July 1857 Rules were formulated for the Management of the
Hearse, one of which was that the document mentioned should be
handed by the retiring manager to his successor.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON. 37

and properties belonging to the Perpetual Curacy and the
Parisli Church of Tregyuon in the County of Montgomery and
Diocese of St. Asaph.

" Witness our hands this sixth day of August in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty six.

"Augustus Field, M.A., Curate (in the absence of the
Reverend Richard Williams Morgan).

" Thomas Roberts John Andrew X his mark

Richd. James John Francis

James Roberts Evan Jones

Edward Watkins William Andrew

Samuel Evans Benjamiu Plnllips*\
Evan Watkins

Tithe Award,

The Tithe award for the parish of Tregynon is dated
1841, and the great and small Tithes commuted at
ninety pounds, all due to Lord Sudeley. All Tithes,
moduses, Easter dues, or customary payments were
thereby merged from 1st Jan., 1841.

The arable land subject to tithes was . 2,2G3 acres.

Pasture and meadow land . . 2,827 „

Woodlands . . . . . . 756 „

Total 5,891 „

Sixty-four farms were the property of Lord Sudeley,
containing 4,809 acres.

The total area of the parish here given is 6,700 acres,
1 rood, 37 perches.

In 1868 the Perpetual Curacy of Tregynon was con-
stituted a Rectory.

By virtue of a grant of £1,000 from the Ecclesias-
tical Commissioners in 1868, to meet a benefaction of
the same value from Lord Sudeley, the afore- mentioned
Tithe Rent Charge of .£90 was assigned for the benefit
of the Cure.

The following is a copy of the receipt re the deposit
of instrument in the Diocesan Registry.

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38 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON.

Revd. E, A. Jenkins^ Tregynon^ to Messrs. Wyatt anti Sisson^

Jiegistrars, St. Asaph.
1868,
Feb. 28. Haviug received ftii Instrument from the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, constitutinj?
Tregyuon a Rector}', Depositing same in
Episcopal Acts of the Diocese . . 5/

Letter acknowledging receipt of the In-
strument and Postage . .3/7

8/7
1868 Aug. 7,

Reed. W. and S.

by L. Roberts.

Speaking of tithes, mention was made in " Byegones",
published in the Oswestry ^c/iY^7^h*2:er, of Beandir Lands
in Tregynon. Beandir lands are no doubt privileged
lands, from the word Beandir, and paid one-thirteenth
instead of one-tenth.

At a Vestry held on 16th April, 1874, it was
resolved to amend the fees for burial, giving —

Fee to the Clergyman . . .1/6

Fee to the Clerk and Sexton . . .3/6

And for extra-parochial burials double fees to be
charged. It was further resolved : '* that graves in all
cases shall be cut at a depth of not less than five feet".

Queen Anne's Bounty Office.

Augmented Living, No. 2, £84 13^. 4f?. Stock at 3 per cent.

The liecfisters.

The earliest record is the burial of Richard, son of
Thos. and Mary Soley, 4 Aug., 1677.

The first register was bought on 6 July, 1678, by
John Gwynne — Curat. Thomas Tanner and Arthur
Blayney — Churchwardens.

The earlier Register, 1664 to 1672, is lost, and was
first missed by Archdeacon Ffoulkes in 1885.

2nd Register 1st Entry, Baptisms Mar. 6, 17].^
3rd ,, Ist Entry, Baptisms Mar. 25, 1753

(Baptisms and Burials)

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TKKGYNOX. 39

4th Register. Ist Entry, ( 'hristeuings Jau. 1,
1787, contain Baptisms and Burials
5th „ Banns and Marriage Register.

The following Extracts taken from the Registers and
other Parish books, scattered here and there, throw
much interesting light upon the charities and property
of the Parish.

The earliest record of a Legacy to the poor is that of
Capt. Andrew Bhiyney, who died in 1678, leaving 6s.

Tybwc Annuity is an old payment said to have come
to the Parish from the Ffoulkes family.

The deed dated 1741 conveys Cefntwlch, or as it is
called, ** Ty Sarah Rogers'*, to the Parish. This house
and building was subsequently burnt down between
the years 1741 and 1701, and rebuilt at the small cost
of £10, by purchasing an old barn and re-erecting it as
a dwelling-house. Cefntwlch was an old Common, and
about the year 1810, a piece of land called ** Poornian's
piece", left to the parish by Morris Morris Syers, was
either sold or exchanged for land adjoining the **Ty
Sarah Rogers". The £5 left by Mr. Andrew Blayney
in 1682, with interest amounting to £5 more, together
with £20 left by Miss Diana Blayney, and £30 by Miss
Joyce Blayney in 1758, both sisters of Mr. Arthur
Blayney, were spent about 1810, with other money
raised by the Parish, to build a stone house and build-
ings on the land acquired by exchange for the " Poor-
man's piece."

Weavers' Charity still continues. — The almshouses
are still standing and in use, and are regulated under a
scheme of the Charity Commissioners.

With regard to the extracts relating to Wain sarniew,
1776, 1777, it is hard to say what they refer to. Wain
sarnieu was a Common, now enclosed and cut up into
fields ; and it is probable that some person had built a
house on the Common land without a proper right, and
was compelled to pull it down.

In 1856 the parishioners, by voluntary subscription,
purchased a hearse and harness for the Parish at the

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40 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

cost of £36 lis, 2d.y and framed rules for its use and
repair, which were recorded in an unsigned document
for the use of the managers, which was to be handed
down to the managers appointed at Easter. I'he hearse
is still in use.

Tyhwc Annuity, — There is an annuity of \0s. yearly
due at Easter, and charged on Tybwc Farm in Llan-
wyddelan, for the benefit of the poor of Tregynon,
and paid through the Gregynog Estate Office. A
memorandum in Register No. I, page 24, runs as
follows : —

" Memorandum, that these Ten shillings paid yearly to ye
poor of the parish of Tregynon for Buck Lands, being in ye
parish of Llanwy thelan paid by ye tenant Matthew Evans 1 762.
This is for remembrance to whom it may come/'

And a very useful remembrance too !

Captain Blayney. — There is a memorandum in
Register No. 1 as follows : —

" 22 Dec. 1680 (?) be it remembered that the sum of six
shillings was given unto the poor of the parish which was a
legacy of Capt. Blayney by Henry B[layney] "

This was probably not an annual payment. Nothing
is now known of this, further than the information con-
tained in the above n^emorandum.

Mr. Andrew Blayney, — Extract from Register No. 1,
page 19. — '*Pioues usses the ear 1682."

"The use of five pounds wich was left by Mr Andrew
Blayney of Graiginog Hall. It all to be payd early to the poor of
the said P'ish of Tregonon wich was disposed of by Henry
Blayney Esqr. according to his will on the three and twentieth
of December. Witnesse Thomas Soley & Thos. Harrison, being
overseers the ear 1682."

Then follows another note : —

'* Memorandum that the use of the above five pounds waa
distributed among ye poore of this parish by Henry Blayney
Esqr. upon X*^mas eve being the 24th day of December Anno
D'mi 1683 (' see this money accounted for in ye new Register'.")

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PAKOOHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON. 41

In Rej^ister No. Ill is a further memorandum relating
to the above, dated " Dec' ye 25, 1748."

*' Whereas Andrew Blayney Esqr. of Gregynnog did by his
last will and Testament dated .... 1682, give & bequeath to
ye poor of ye Parish of Tregganon ye sum of Five pounds ye use
whereof to be paid them yearly. And whereas ye Interest of
ye s'd sum of Five pounds has not been paid for about 20 years
last past so that the arrears of Interest due upon ye sM sum of
£5 to this time amounts to £5 more. Therefore I promise to
pay to ye overseers of ye poor of ye 8*d Parish & their succes-
sors ye sum of £10 with Interest for the use of ye poor of ye
s'd. Parish. Ar. Blayney."

*' N.B. The above Ten pounds was the 1st day of February
1782 paid by Arthur Blayney Esqr. into the hands of Thos.
Soley, John Bum ford, and Rich. Oliver, and by them put out to
Interest upon the Turnpike between Newtown and Llanfair as
mortgage from the Commissioners of this day's date. All
interest settled to this day.*'

This interest was paid 25th Dec. 1749, by Ar.
Blayney, Esq., 10^. ; also on Dec. 25th, 1750 —

** And likewise received at the same time of ye said Arthur
Blayney Esqr. the sum of four pounds in part of a Legacy of £6
left by Mrs. Anne Blayney his mother at her decease to the

Poor of the sM Parish by us Signed

Ch'wardens.'*

No interest appears to have been received for this
£6, of which nothing is now known.

" This Indenture made the sixth day of May in the fourteenth
year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the second by
the (Jrace of God of Great Brittain ffrance and Ireland King
Defender of Faith in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and forty and one Between Sarah Rogers of the
Parish of Tregynon in the County of Montgomery Spinster of
the one part and Richard Tanner and George Syer Church-
wardens and Caleb 'JWner and ffrancis Stephens, overseers of
the poor of the Parish of Tregynon in the County of Mont-
gomery aforesaid of the other part Witnesseth that the said
Sarah Rogers for and in consideration of the sum of one pound
and five shillings of Lawful money of Great Britt-ain to her in
hand paid by the said Churchwardens and Overseers before the
ensealing and Delivery of these presents whereof and is here-

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42 PAHOCHIAI. HISTORV OP TRKGYNON.

with she the said Sarah Rogers doth ackuowled^^e the receipt,
and also in consideration that they the aforesaid Richard
Tanner, George Syer, Caleb Tanner and ffrancis Stephens
Churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the said Parish of
Tregynon have sealed and delivered one obligation of the sum
of Twenty pounds unto her with condition thereon endorsed for
providing and maintaining the said Sarah Rogers with meat
and Competent meat Drink and Cloaths or money to buy the
same for and During the Term of her natural life and forsetling
the house Lands and Tenement herein afore mentioned to such
use and uses and upon such Trust and confidence as are herein
declared limited and comprised and for divers other good and
valuable considerations her the said Sarah Rogers hereunto
moveing Hath given granted enffeoffed released and confirmed
by these presents doth give grant Enffeoffee Release and con-
firm unto the said Richard Tanner George Syer Caleb Tanner
and ffrancis Stephens Churchwardens and Overseers of the
Poor of the Parish of Tregynon aforesaid and their and every
of their successors for the time being for ever all that house,
Garden, Barn, and one close of arrable ground containing by
estimation one acre be it more or less together with all ways
waters water courses Heraditaments and Appurtenances there-
unto belonging or in anywise appertaining situate Lyeing and
being in the Township of Aberhaley in the said Parish of
Tregynon in the County of Montjromery aforesaid commonly
called and known by the name of Ty Sarah Rogers. To have
and to hold the the said Messuage Lands Tenements and all
other the premises with all their Right Members and appurte-
nances to the said Richai'd Tanner, George Syer, Caleb
Tanner and ffrancis Stephens and their successor for the time
being to the use and behoofe of the said Sarah Rogers and her
assigns for and during the term of her natural life without
Impeachment of waste and after her decease to the use and
Ik'hoofe of the Poor of the said Parish of Tregynon that now
are or here after shall be for the time being for ever and the
said Sarah Rogers all and singular the premises with their
appurtenances unto the said Richard Tanner George Syer
Caleb Tanner and ffrancis Stephens and their successors for the
time being to the seveiall and respective uses behoofs and
purposes before in and by these presents mentioned and
declared for and touching and concerning the same against all
persons whatever shall and will warrant and foiever by these
presents defend and furthermore that all and singular the
piemises with the appuitenances shall and may from time to
time and at all times hereafter remaine and continue to the

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON. 43

severall uses intents and purposes and under the conditions in
and by these presents mentioned and declared according to the
true intents and meaning of these presents.

" In witness whereof the said parties to these presents have
put their hands and seals the day and year first above written.
The mark of Sarah X Rogers. Sealed and delivered with
Livery and Seisin executed by the within named Sarah Rogers
to the also within named Richard Tanner George Syer Caleb
Tanner and ffrancis Stephens in the presence of

*' Richard Humphreys Ed. Blayney.'^

Extracts from the Tregynon Rate Book relating to
Charities, etc,

1758. "Whereas there was a Vestree held the 19 day of
April 1768.

" It was Agreed by ye freeholders and inhabitants there
present and others of ye parishioners of ye pansh of Tregunnon
by the consent of the gentlemen which bestows their charyty
for the poor of the said parish the said charyty money shall be
disposed for decayed householders and not to them that are
in the poore Booke. Witness our several hands, George
Hudson, Thomas Soley. The mark of Richard Hodson, senr.,
Thomas Hodson. The marks of Rd. Oliver ; W. Lewis ;
T. Tydor ; Richard Hodson, junior ; Humphrey Williams ;
Evan Davies, senior ; K. Humphreys.'^

1760. " Paid John Soley for Mr. Robert Devereux use
three pounds three shillings for the old barn bought at Peny-
bont to make a dwelling house upon, ye late Sarah Rogers for
Edward Arthur . . . .£330

" Also payd John Davies for rebuilding ye said Barn in a
dwelling house for ye use of ye parish and now for Edward
Arthur being four pounds fifteen shillings . £4 15

which makes ye sum to be ten pounds being ye full legacy left
by Madam Joyce Blayney for ye use of ye poor of ye said
parish of Tregunnon aforesayd/*

An entry above this, on the same page, is a promise
to pay Arthur Blayney, Esq., £2 2s, on demand for
vahie received, and which was paid. This T infer was
the £2 25. necessary to bring up the above to £10.

About 1764. — April. A torn page with an agree-
ment to let by the Churchwardens to ... . Arthur
(probably the house mentioned above).

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44 PAROCHrAL HrSTOHY OP THKGYNOri.

Also, on reverse side, a Vestry held as to Moris Sire,
a poor man, as to a deed of gift relating to some
property ; the facts I cannot decipher, it being torn in
two.

Extract from Parish Register dated 26 December, 1761,
relating to Charities.

Cefntwlch, — ''Mrs. Joyous Blayney of the Town of Shrewsbury
By her will dated 16 March 1758 gave to the Churchwardens
and Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Tregynon, who
should be in oflSce at the time of her decease the Sum of Ten
pounds to be placed out at interest by the Churchwardens and
Overseers for the time being with the consent and good liking
of her nephew and Executor Arthur Blayney Esq. in Trust for
the use and benefit of the Poor of the said Parish, The interest
whereof to be distributed by the Parish officers on the 1st day
of Feby. yearly in two penny Loaves amongst the said Poor —
As it was very difficult to lay out so small a sum at Interest on
a good Security and it happening that there was an ancient site
of an House with an enclosure on Keven Twlk formerly erected
by this Parish for one Sarah Rogers, a pauper, and now in the
possession of Edward Arthur, Blacksmith, one of the Poor of
this Parish, which house has been lately consumed by fire
whereby both House and Enclosure will be (lost) to this Parish
if neglected. It is therefore agreed at a Vestry by the officers
and Parishioners, with the Consent of the said Ar. Blayney
that some old Building shall be Purchased and erected upon
the place and that the Expense of materials and workmanship
be paid out of the said Legacy of £10 and that lOs. arising out
of the Rent of said House and Close shall be yearly distributed
to the poor according to the will —

Note, the old materials and work came to . £7 18
and the remaining £'2 2«. 0</. was given to

the Poor . . . .220

10 0"

Cifiitwlch No 2. — " Morris Morris Syer of the Bronhafod
Estate in Tregynon Parish is said to have given about 1 acre
and a quarter of land known as the * Poorman's piece'
situated in the middle of Neuadd Rhys Llwyd (known now as
Neuaddllwyd Farm), and this was exchanged about the year
1810 for 3 acres, 2 rods, 2 poles, situate at Cefntwlch, and

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 45

now forms with 3 acres, 2 rods, 29 poles, the Parish Property
at Cefntwlch. The net profits, after repairs are paid for, are
distributed at the Vestry to the Poor."

It is probable that Ellis Norris, of Tregyuon, gentle-
man [? Morris] devised to Richard Sire and Richard
Adams, sons-in-law to Ellis Norris, the piece of land
called " Poorman's piece''. The will of Ellis Morris
was proved in 1645, and the land in question is styled
*'a parcel of land of about 2 acres, situate in the town-
ship of Aberhaley", which land testator had purchased
from one Evan Jones, \veaver; and his Trustees forever
were to pay on Easter-day Gs. 8d. to the Poor of
Tregynon.

Weavers Charity, — Arthur Weaver died in 1688.
His will, executed in 1687, gives 20.s\ to the Parish of
Tregynon to be distributed by the officers of the poor
of the Parish, and 26^. to the Parish of Bettws, yearly,
forever, to be paid quarterly to the churchwardens and
overseers of the Parish, charged on Llwyncoch Farm in
that Parish — Bettws — to be paid out Gd. weekly in
bread, to be brought every Sunday morning to the
respective churches (the other being Morville) and
after morning prayer there to be distributed by the
churchwardens and overseers to six of the most aged
and impotent poor people of the said parishes as shall
desire the same ^* for God s sake" as the greatest
number of the parishoners at their monthly meeting
shall nominate and appoint. His executors to provide
several copies of the " Whole duty of Man'', and all
the works of the author to be bound together, and
to deliver them to the churchwardens of Llanidloes,
Machynlleth, Newtown, Montgomery, Welshpool, Llan-
fyllyi and Bettws and St. Chad's, Shrewsbury, St.
Leonard's, Bridgnorth, and Morville, for the people to
read in church before or after service on Sundays **or
other Holy days".

1782. At a Vestry meeting of Inhabitants and Land
holders in the Parish of Tregynon, proclaimed the 7th

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46 t>AfeOCHtAL HlStOKV OP TKE6YKoy.

April, 1782, and held the 12th of the same month, It
was agreed as under — viz. :

"That whereas Arthur Blayney Esq. heretofore stood indebted
to the poor of this Parish in the sum of Ten Founds left by
the will of Mr. Andrew Blayney 1682 and in the further Sum
of Twenty Pounds left by the will of the late Miss Diana Blayney
of Shrewsbury deceased —

" Both which sums the said Arthur Blayney being desirous to
discharge as well as Principal and Interest gave notice of such
his intention to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor.
But that notice not being duly attended to He the s'd Arthur
Blayney did on the first day of February last pay the s*d
several sums of Ten pounds and Twenty Pounds into the hands
of Mr. Thos. Soley, Richd. Oliver and John Bumford — whoimme-
diately put out the same to Interest upon a Mortgage of the
gates and the Tolls thereat collected upon the Turnpike Road
leading from Newtown to Tregynon — The name of the said
Thos. Soley, Richard Oliver and Johu Bumford being made
use of in the said Mortgage only as Trustees as appears by a
declaration on the back of the s'd Mortgage.

" Now we whose names are underwritten do agree that the
said Arthur Blayney, Thos. Soley, Richard Oliver and John
Bumford, Did Act perfectly consistent with the Interest of this
Parish and the Poor thereto belonging in disposing of the said
Sum of Thirty Pounds in the manner above mentioned of whom
we have this day received the said Mortgage and of which we
approve.
• "Thomas Davies mark of Richd. Hudson Humphy. Williams
William Andrew Francis Stevens John Evans.

"Witness: Thos. Colley."

[This money was eventually raised, and used to build
the stone house and buildings at Cefntwlch W.S.O.J

Extracts from Parish Books as to Charities,

1810. [Cejntnlchl At a Vestry meeting held March 16, 1810 :—

** Also it was unanimously agreed by the Inhabitants of this
Parish that they do authorize the Revd. Mr. Davies Mr. CoUey
and Mr. Oliver ii^ trust for the Parish to erect or build a
dwelling House and Cow Tye upon the Allotment of ground
upon Cefntwlch also the Parish do authorize the above named
Gentlemen to raise the sum of Thirty Pounds left by the late
Miss Joyce Blayney to the Poor of this Parish and are upon a

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t>AilOCHtAL HlSTOKY 6^ TKEGYNON. 4?

Mortgage Deed upon the Turnpike Road leading from New-
town through Tregynon to Llanfair and whatever more is
wanted to Compleat the said building, the Parish do bind them-
selves to furnish the said Gentlemen with what is sufficient to
Compleat the said building in a Compleat manner also the
Parish do authorize the above nained Gentlemen to procure
seats to Plant upon every part of the premises and get them
planted where it is necessary and they would pay all necessary
Expenses that lay upon that subiect "

1812. [Cefntwlch] September 18. 1812.

" Mr, Richard Ohver and Mr. Edward Jones do promise to
advance upon the Parish tlie Security the Sum of Forty Pounds
each towards paying Mrs. Colley the arrears due to the late Mr.
Colley upon the account of Cefntwlch."

In Register No. Ill is a memo, of the legacies left in
this parish as follows : —

" Account of what legacies are left to be paid to the Poor of
the Parish of Tregynon.

"The Interest of Ten pounds from Andrew Blayney Esq.
Ten shillings from Buck Land being in Llannwythelan Parish
Fifteen shillings from the Poor Man's Piece (and also 20s, per
annum Rent which arises from a legacy that Mrs. Joyous
Blayney left ye Poor of this Parish Settled now at Kefntwlch
upon a premises where old Sarah Rogers formerly lived." ^

Parish Properties, undated and unsigned Extract
from Overseers' account book, 1810 to 1842.

**Cefut\vlk Tenement and Land iu the ocuu- £ s. d.
pation of John Cowdell being 3 a. 2 r. 29 p.
valued by Mr. Dyer at . . .760

Do. in Edward Morris, occupation being
3 a. 2 r. 2 p. valued at. . . 6 10 0'*

"An account of the Bequests and Donations left by several
Persons to be shared annually for Poor Householders belonging
to the Parish of Tregynon on New Year's Day and Easter
Monday every year late Arthur Weaver Esq. Built a House
in Bettws Village 2 down stairs and Two upstairs at the East
End of the House and free liberty of the kitchen both up and

1 This extract is in a different hand to the writing of the period
where inserted, and evidently of a much later date.

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48 TAROCHtAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

dovm stairs for their use and hath endowed it with Five Pounds
yearly —

£. $. d.
" Three Pounds for Firing and Two for repairs 5
Also late Arthur Blayuey, Esq., left a Dona-
tion of £6 6«. Od. to be paid on twice . 6 6
Also the Proprietor of Buckslaud in the
Parish of Llanwyddelan Ten shillings yearly
to be paid by the Tenant at Easter . 10
Also a Messuage on Cefntwlc now in the
occupation of John Cowdall yearly Rent . 7 6
Also a Messuage on Cefntwlc now in the
occupation of James Davies, Rent . 6 10 0"

There is another entry on the last page of this book
giving a different account of the property of the parish,
evidently older than the one above, as it only men-
tions one Cefntwlc at XI \\s. 6cL rent, and gives Miss
Blayneys (sister to the late Arthur Blayney) legacy
as producing 305. This was raised and used to build
the second house (the stone one) — Buckland Charity
(Tybwc Annuity) is here said to come from the Foulkes
family, and it also gives two gifts from Morris Norris,
Syers, each of 305. a year, this one belonging to the
Bronhafod Estate, the other land in Niodlwyd Farm.

Almshouses. — Arthur Weaver (No. 2) executed a will
in 1709-10, which was proved in 1710.

To his son Anthony he devised the messuage and
garden '*by me built in Bettws in the County of Mont-
gomery and enjoyed by the poor at present", and a
yearly rent charge of £10 out of the glel)e and tithe of
Tregynon " to be employed in setting out poor children
or in setting to work poor people either of that Parish
or of Bettws adjoining", according to the discretion of
his heirs for the time being ; and '* 1 desire that on every
Whit Sunday immediately after Divine Service the
ministers of Bettws and Tregynon doe each of them
read an account in each Church how the aforesaid £10
hath been disjx^sed of that year, and who are the inhabi-
tants in the said messuage", which account he required
his heir for the time being to cause to be declared to

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 49

each Minister the preceding Sunday ; which if he
neglected to do then *' my will is that the said Minister
shall have the disposing of £5 each of them the ensuing
year of the said Rent''.

1861. A new scheme approved by the Charity Com-
missioners was made in 1861 for regulating this Charity.
The Almshouses were built in 1709 by A. Weaver, Esq.,
of Gregynog, for the use of eight old persons, four from
Bettws and four from Tregynon, to be nominated by
the incumbents and churchwardens of the two parishes
as trustees.

Charities and Parish Property — Extracts from
THE Old Rate-Books.

1776. [ Wainsaraeu], A Vestry was held 7 Nov. " upon the
account [of] Gwain y Same and held this seventh day of the
same month in order to settle Between the Owners of the
said Gwain Same and the Parishioners of this Parish in
Regards to Expenses demanded by them on the said Owners by
which it is agreed by the majority of the Parishioners that the
sum of ten pounds will satisfy them in all respects*'.

1777. *' Whereas Thear was a Vestry Called the 14 and held
21 Day of February 1777 at It Agreed By the Inhabitants and
Land houlders of the Parish of Tregunon of the One Part and
William Williams Otherwise Sidney of the Parish of Tregunon
of the Other Part Witnesseth that the said William Williams
Otherwise Sidney Doth Agree and Submit To Draw and Pooll
Down the House or Cause to have to Be Drawn Down which
he Lattly Bilt in The Township of Aberhaley in the said Parish
of Tregunon Likewise to Draw the said House Down Before The
Ist Day of March 1777 as Witness Booth Parties The Mark of
William Williams Otherwise Sidney".

1777. Dec, 24. *' Reed, of Arthur Blayney Esq. the Sum of
five Pounds in full of a Legacy left to the Poor of Tregynon
by the will of Mr. John Guest lately deceased and distributed by
us at the same time".

Extract from Churchwarderi s Accounts,

1795-6. In the Churchwardens account this entry
appears :

VOL. XXX. E

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50 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRBGYNON.

£ B.

" Carrying the old Bell to Newtown

For Exchanging the Bell

7 17

Carrying the Bell from Pool

By raising the Bell

Irons for han^ng the Bell

Towards the New Bell .

7 17

l|''

Vestry Book — Churchwardens Account.

May 1837.— To 3 meu robbing Rook-nests

For Ale to the Rookry

Arrears for ale to the Eookry .

Mr. Griffith for Powder and

to the Rookry

In the year 1680, or about that date, appears a
memorandum in the 1st Register as to the Tithe Hay,
as follows : —

"' Memorandam that there was foure shillings and foure
pence sterling rendered at the alter in the p'ish Church of
Tregynon in lieu of the tyth hay for the whole p'ish for the
p*sent yeare by Henry Blayney Esq. and Wm. Syer, Gent, on
the behalfe of the p'ishonrs in the presence and sight of

John Evans, Curat ibid,
Thomas Hodson,
John Humphreys,
William Geippiths*'.

The Tithe Hay was owned by Mr. Weaver between
1702 and 1745, then by John Weaver, Esq., in 1746,
and by Arthur Weaver, Esq., from 1747 to 1752,
when the entries as to payment no longer appear in
the Registers.

A curious entry in the Register is as follows : —

*' Bernard ye son of Rich .... and Sussana his wife was
bom on Saturday ye 25 of November 89 [1689] about ye
3 of ye clock in the afternoon, ye planett sol ruling ye
hour".

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

Churchwardens.

FromJiegister No, 1.

From Regitter No. 2.

1685

WiUiam ColUns

1715

Richard CoUins

John Uodson

Thomas Hodson

1689

Humphrey Ellis

1716

Ffrancis Mason

John ElUs

Thomas Hodson

1690

Qeoi^ Hodson, junr.
EvanEllu

1717

1691

George Hodson, junr.

1718

David Oliver

Francis Harper

Tho. Cowdell

1692

Francis Harper

1719

Thos. Roberts

Thomas Cowdell

Tho. Hodson, of Penawain

1693

Thomas Cowdell

1720

Evan Price

Arthur Evorall

Tho. Davies

1694

Thou. Harrison

1721

Edward Cowdell

Arthur Evanes

David Davies ye Butcher

1695

Matthew CowdeU

1722

Edward Cowdell

John Brick

David Davies

1696

John Humphreys

1723

Richard Tanner

Thofl. Keynald

David Morris

1697

George Hodson, junr.

1724

Richard Tanner

Humphrey Ellis, junr.

David Morris

1698

Thos. Gwynn

1725

John Meredith

Rich. Tanner

Tho. Blayney

1699

Ed. Owen

1726

Thos. Verall

Howell Blayney

Thos. Ellis

1700

John Lambe

1727

John Andrew, aliat Witticass

Richard Jennins

Evan Davies

1701

John Bowler

1728

Owen Lewis

Richd. Hodson

Evan Howell

1702

Richd. Syre

1729

John Lloyd

Edd. Addice

Morris Pugh

1708

PhiUp Price

1730

Mr. Tho. Soley

Richard Davies

Mr. Hum. Ellis

1704

John [Murrier ?]

1731

Wniiam Evans
Richd. Brees

1705

Moris Price

1732

Richd. Owens

Evan Williams

John Davies

1706

George Syer

1733

David Davies

Evan Phillips

Robert Oliver

1707

George Syer

1734

Arthur Evans

Evan Phillips

John Owen

1708

John Davies

1735

William Jones

Richard Humphreys

John Hodson

1709

Humphrey Shutt

1730

Rowland Owep

Edwd. CowdeU

John Andrew

1710

Thos. Price

1737

William ffrancies

Arthur Evans

Rowlant Evans

1711

1738

Geo. Seirs, for Bronhafod
Edward Andrew, for ye lane

1712

Ed. Davys

houses of Madame Blayneys

Thos. Hodson

1739

Tho. Hodwn

John Tidder [? Tudor]

Pram Begitttr No, 2.

1740

ThoB. Price

1713

Richard Hodson

Richd. Tanner ye younger

Thomas Evans

1741

Richd Humpherys

1714

John Hodson
Richard Hodson

Richd. Pugh

£ 2

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Churchwardens and Overseers of Tregynon,

Churchwardens,

1742 John Tanner
James Cuwdel

1743 James Roberts
Thomas Cleatou ...

1744 Thomas Knight ...
John Andrew

1745 Edward Blainey ...
Evan Davies

1 746 Francis Stephens ...
Thomas Vemalls ...

1747 Thomas Elis
John Davies

1748 Evan Howell, senr.
William Andrew ...

1749 Evan Howell, junr.
Thomas Bennett ...

1750 Richard Hodson, seur.
David Davies

1751 Richard Hodson, junr.
Watkin Lewis

1752 Thomas Hodson ...
Richard Mieels [? Mills]

1753 Richard Mieels do.
John Evans

1754 Humphrey Williams
John Evans

1755 Richard Oliver
John Davies

1766 Richard Oliver

Richard Davies
1757 George Hodson

John Tanner
1768 Edward Davies

Richard Owens

1759 John Lloyd
John Gravner

1760 JohnTydor
John Pugh

1761 Richd. Humphreys
David Morris

1762 William Davies, Gwaintrebithe
Thomas Sam uell, Rock

1763 William Andrew, Fir House ...
Thomas Jones, Ewtre

1764 James lioberts, Lleyumeliu
Edward Lewis, Tynybanol

1765 Francis Stephens, Tyuysliettiu
Richard Hodson, Cefugwifed ...

1766 Richard Hudson, Cefngwifed ...
Francis Stephens, Tynyshettin

1767 George Ellis, Keelhail
William Bebb, Moilywigeth ...

1768 John Davies, Llettyevanllydan
Humphrey Williams, HafodtiUog

Overseen.

Thomas Pryce, Gregynog

John Lloyd, cooper

Morris Pugh, Hafodtalog

Thomas Vamalls, Dolewen

Richard Owen, Tydu

John Davies, Dolymelyn

Robert Oliver, Brithdir

Thomas Bennet, Lease

Edward Oliver, Vraithwen

Thomas Elis, Keelhail

Thomas Samuel, Tyny Graig

Edward Andrew, Vachwen

David Lewis, Dairy

Thomas Reynols, Lane

James Roberts, Llwynmelyn

John Andrew, Caecappan

Will. Bebb, Coedperthy

Tho. ClatoD, Owmkignant

Richd. Owens, Lower House

Maurice Meredith, Bronywood

Francis Stephen, for Leynmelyn

Evan Howell, junr., Tynybryn

John Tanner, Lletty Evan Llydan

David Davies, Tynycoed

Watkin Lewis, PwUan

William Bebb, Bolywiggon [? Moel y

wiged]
Richard Mieels, Penybryn
Euan Euans, Birch House
Thos. Hodson, Ty Newedd
David Andrew, Rhosgoch
Humphrey Williams, Hafod Talog
Richd. Owen, junr., Tyd<l
R. Hodson, Cefngwifed
John Evans, Llwynmelyn
Will. Davies, Gwaiutrebedde
David Reynols, Cwm
Edward Davies, Llwynmelyn
Thomas Sam uell, Fachwen
Edwd. Lewis, Tynybanol
Francis Stephens, Tynyshettin
Rich. Davies, Church House
Tho. Tudor, Gogeea
Mr. Geo. Hudson, Lane
J«»hn Claton, Coedyperthy
Evan Davies, Nyodd Rhys Llwyd
Richd. Oliver, Brithdir
John Tudor, Aberclawdd
John liloyd, cf>oper
John Pugh, Caecap{»an
Thomas Jones, Yew Tree Tenement
William Andrew, Fir House
Mourice Meredith, Bronyood
John Gravner, Vraithwen
John Morgan, PwUau

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PAROCHIAL HISTOBY OF TREGYNON.

Churchioardeiu.

Overseers.

1769

Watkiu Lewis, Red House,

Pwllan

John Davies, Dolymelyn

Richard Hodson, Cefngwifed ...

John OUver, TydA

1770

Andrew Andrew, Fraithwen ...

John Tudor, Longbirches

Edward Lewis, Tynybanol

Andrew Whiticas, Vachwen

1771

Thomas Owens, Tunewidd

John Shutt, Ty Gwealt

Richard Mills. Penybryn

Thomas Samuell, Tyny Graig

1772

Thomas Soley, Pwllan

John Tanner, Uetty Evan Llydan

James Roberts, senr., Llwyn-

melin

David

Puflfh. Mr. Hudson's land

1773

James Roberts, j unr. , Tudu . . .

Evan Eyans, Birch House

David Andrews ...

David Morris, Glanravon

1774

John Evans

John Evans — Lease

Francis Edwards ...

Roger

Gittens, Gwaintrebedde

1775

Thomas Phillips ...

Richard Hudson, Cefngwifed

John Evans

John Davies, Lleynmelin
John Rowlands, Cochshiddan

1776

Richard Oliver ...

Humphrey James ...

Thomas Owens, Tynewidd

1777

Thomas Phillips ...

Morris Humphreys, Cefn Twlk

John Evans

Edward Evans, Penybryn
Thomas Lloyd, Penywain

1778

Richard Oliver

Humphrey James

David Davies, Tunybryn

1779

Richard Oliver ...

David Davies, Bronrhees

Thomas Da vies

David Andrew, Tynycoed

1780

David Davies

Richard Owens, Rhoscoch

JohnDavies

Nathaniel Bebb, Bol-y-Wiggon [Moely

1781
17A9

Thofl. Clayton
John Thomas

Tln.infi liovipji

wiged]

X i Oa

Joseph Richards

1783

John Tudor, Aberclawdd

Churchwardens.

Edward Jones, Coecappan

1799

Evan Thomas

1784

George Lloyd

Thomas Tudor

Richard Owen

1800

Thomas Pugh

1785

WilUam Andrew

John Morris

1786

Richard Hudson

1801

r George CoUey
t Thomas Phillips

John Bouuford

1802

1787

Richard Hudson

1803

John Andrews

Edward Lloyd

John Evans

1788

Richard Hudson

1804

Edward Jones

pt. of 9 Edward Lloyd

Thomas Roberta

1790

Arthur Blayney

1805

John Evans

Andrew Andrews

Evan Morris

1791

Andrew Andrews

1806

John Hamer

Richard Hudson

Edward Evans

1792

Thomas Andrews

1807

John Hamer

Thomas Davies

Edward Evans

1793

Richard OHver

1808

Joseph Buckley

ThomajB Davies

John Hamer

1794

William Andrew

1809

Joseph Richards

Richard Hudson

Thomas Cleaton

1795

John Davies
William Pryse

1810

John Davies

1796

David Evans

1811

David Jones
William Andrews

1797

William Gittens

1812

John Richards

John Lloyd

William Roberts

1798

. . 1 . )

181G

George Soley
John JoDCri

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Churchwardena,

1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819

John Jones
ThoB. Davies
Evan Andrew
George Owen
WaiiamB Andrews, jun.
William Andrews, sen.
William Qittins
David Evans
Thomas Roberts

1820 John Evans

1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833

Edward Evans
Edward Lewis
Thomas Morris
Thomas Tudor
Randle Owen
Benjamin Phillips
John Andrew
William Brown
Edward Jones
James Roberta
Edward Morgans
John Evans
Thomas Cleaton
John Oliver
John Evans
Richard Oliver
Richard Doughty
Nicholas Wood
William Andrew
Thomas Jones
Edward Whiticha
George Soley
David Andrews

Thomas Davies
John Lewis
Owen Brown
Richd. Morgan
Richard Morgan
Thomas Davies
Thomas Soley
[Two blank pages]
Evan Lewis
Richard Gough
Evan Andrew
Thomas Roberta
Thomas Williams
John Evans
John Williams
Edward Williams

1842 and

1843 John Thomas
Richard Gittins

1844 Edward Evans
John Blayney

1834

1835

1836
1837
1838

1839

1840

1841

1845

Edward Evans

J. Hamar

1846

James Roberts

John Parry
Benjamin Phillips

1847

James Evans

1848

James Ev(»ns

William Andrew

1849

William Andrew

Thomas James

1850

Evan Watkin

Edward Owen

1861

Thomas Jones

Nicholas Woods

1852

Edward Watkins

William Andrew

1853

Richard Morgans

Edward Jones

1854

Edward Whitticase

R. Stephens

1855

Thomas Williams

John Jones

1856

Thomas Roberta

Richard James

1857

Thomas Roberts

Owen Brown

1858

Thomas Roberts

John Evans

1859

Hon. H. H. Tracy

Samuel Evans

1860

Same as above

1861

John Francis

Evan Lewis

1862

Do.

1863

Hon. H. H. Tracy

Evan Harris

1864

Hon. H. H. Tracy

Evan Andrew

1865

Do.

1866

John Williams

William PhUlips

1867

Evan Andrew

William Phillips

1868

Thomas Roberts

Edward Whitticase

1869

Edward Whitticase

Roger Evans

1870

Richard Thomas

William Pryce

1871

Richard Thomas

Thomas Roberts

1872

E<lward Whitticase

Edward Williams

1873

Edward Whitticase

Wm. Corfield

1874

Edward Whitticase

Evan Pugh

1875

Alfred Ikin and David Andrew

1876

Do. Do.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON. 55

Amongst the curious names in the Registers the
following are found, and to them are added names
which are strange to the district : —

1699. Vernalls, yeoman.
„ Bowdler, agricola.

1700. Ed. Addice, colon.
„ Jonathan Sparing.

„ Johannes Leinib, coloni

„ John Blackmore, agricola.

„ .... Scriven.

1702. Falkner.
„ Wooton.

1703. Habberley.
1705. Chiliking.

1722. Fluit( = Llwyd = Lloyd).
1725. Floud (Llwyd).
1730. Oinion (Einion).

The Latin names of the diflferent trades are often
placed after the name : —

Colonus, husbandman ; Textor, weaver ; Lapidarius, stonemason ;
Agricola, farmer \^ yeoman] ; Junctor, joiner ; Molinarius, miller ;
Ferarius, blacksmith ; Sartor, tailor ; Tibicen, flut^player ; Fabra-
lignarius, carpenter; Dolarius [1 cooper]; Sutor, cobbler; Fullo, fuller;
LaniuR, butcher ; Calcearius, shoemaker.

[1693-4] — Burying in Woollen,

" Com. Mountgomery.

" Anne Williams of ye parish of Tregynon and county
aforesaid made oath y^ John ye son of John Humphrey of ye
said parish So county lately deceased was not wrapt wound in
or buried in any other matteriale but what was made of sheep's
wool! onely. Dated ye 29th of January 1693-4. Jur. die et
anno superscript.

" Coram me Eich. Morgan vie de Llanllwchaiarn."

[1707]. — Extracts from Register.

'* Mary Howell and Susanna Davies do make oath and
hereby certify all those whoever it may anyway concern, that Ann
the wife of John Davies of the p'ish of Tregynon and county of
Montgomery, gent.^ was wrapped and shrowded and buryed in

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

no material but only what was made of sheep wool according to
an Act of Parliament in that behalf made.

" Witness their hands and seals the 8th day of March 1707.

** Jurat coram me *' Mary Howbll.

" JoH. Tebvor, Cler. " Sig. Suasane N. Da vies/'

'*1721.
** Fb'- y® 21, 1721., Treegunnon.

" Rec^ then of the Churchwardens of the Parish of Treegunnon
in the County of Mountgumry the sume of Two Shillings
towards ye reliff of the sufferers by ffire in ye towne of Poole
in ye s^ county.

" By me. R: Chidobes [?].''

An Old Assessment taken from the Parish Register about

THE YEAR 1720.

Llanvechan Township,

rf.

John Blayney, Esq., of Gregynog Hall .

Rowe Cooke . . . .

Mr. William Owen

Thomas Powell, Pen y Brin .

Richard Brick, Comagignant

Cair Cappan

The Pin folde . . . .

Brithdir buchan .

Tue Lood . . . .

Tue n a brin

Mr. Thomas Gwynne

Richard Hodson .

The Black House .

William Worthington and lato Morris Syer

The Dole Wen

Richard Tanner

Mr. To* Blayney .

Tue yn yr. wttra .

Gwogee ....

Tue frood wen

Pant ur onnen

Tue'n BanadJe

Aherhaley Tovmship.

Humphrey Shutt ....

Arther Evans ....

Richard Partton ....

John Blackmcr . « » .

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PABOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREQYNON.

Thomas Hudson of ye lown

Keven a toolk

The Burch House

Mr. Thomas Hodson

John Davies

Morris Pryce for ye Vachwen

David Davies ye Butcher

Jo°. Hibbott, Tue un y Shettinge

John Evans, land

Brin Havod

Pen y waine

Aberclauth

Coed Madock

Dol Laithdye

John Hodson for Mr. Pemberton*s Land

The House in ye Lane Robt. Thomas

Moses Mosten

Thomas Pryce

Edward Davies for Looin melin

Willm. Syers, Coom House

Pwllan Towfuhip.
The Lease Land of Mr. William Ovens
Mr. Pemberton's land near Stingwcm
John Olliver, Stingwem Vach
Moile y wigeth .

Late Richard Davies for two tenem'ts
Coyd y Perthy .
The Blowty
Thomas Soley's land
Mr. Weaver's Lease Land.
Humphrey Ellis
Havotalog

Edward Addis ye vron
Edward Addis, The Lower House
David Evans Crome
Thomas Harper, Glan ur avon
John Humphreys, Bron Rees
Evan Pryce, for ye Tue gwellt
Richard Jennings
G waine a trebethe David Olliver

Tott

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

.01

.02

.04

0.2

.02

.01

.03

.02

.01

.02

.03

.01

.02

.03 .05

N.B. — We have intimation of a still older assessment
in the form of the obnoxious tax called *' Ship-money",

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

when we find in 1637 Tregynon assessed at £1 1 Os. 8rf.,
with a note '* Clergie Nil' .

Rate Books,

The earliest Rate Book is 1742, but the pages are not
very clear. The Rate for 1743 is perfect, and worth
reproducing : —

" 7 May 1748. At a parish Meeting this day it was Agreed
that sevenpence ye pound be Eated and Assessed upon the
Inhabitants & Landholders in our Parish of Tregunnon for and
towards the Kelief of ye Poor of ye s'd Parish and that ye
several poor Persons hereunder named be allowed ye sumes
under mentioned for their maintenance for this present year.

" The names of ye poor and their allowance.

«.

Joyce Baxter .

Sarah Hains

John Meredith .

5«.adddedDecr.l4,

Catherine Oliver

[1743.

Jane Davies

Sam'l Tudge .

Mort Edw^d Samuel ,

Rowland Thomas

Mort. Rowland Jones .

Bridgett Lewis .

Jane Collins

3rf. a week added

Turners Child Cloathing &

[Deer. 14, 1743.

Victualls

Mort. Anne Tudge

Evan Addis

Edward Jennins

Mort. Thomas Einion .

£1 5s, Od, added.

Alice Williams .

[ditto.

Mort. Eleanor Bumford

Ann Price

6rf. added, ditto.

Margaret Jones

Francis Hodson

£0 28. Qd, added.

Thomas Tumor

[ditto.

Richard Rowland

Harper's son

PMward Morgan

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Note. — In another handwriting is added the word
" mort" [dead] opposite the names above, where the
word appears.

** 1 743. Montgomeryshire. A Bate and Assessment made
ye seventh day of May 1743 by ye Churchwardens, Overseers
of ye Poor So Inhabitants of the Parish of Tregunnon in ye
Connty aPd upon ye Inhabitants and Landholders in ye s'd
Parish for & towards ye necessary Relief and Maintenance of
ye Poor of ye same Parish for this present year at seven pence
p' pound.

*' James Roberts ) nu i. j
-Thomas Clbaton [Churchwardens.

" The mark of Maurice b* Puohe ) /^ v „

" Thomas Veenalls | (Overseers).

Aberhaley Toumship,

Rowland Evans

Mary Hodson

Mr. William Foulkes .

Thomas Reynold

Francis Stephens

David Jones.

James Roberts

Thomas Knite

John Davies, Coed Madock

Evan Davies.

Edward Andrew

Llwynmelyn lands

Edward Stephens

Jane Pryce .

Thomas Hodson

Elizabeth Pryce

Richard Rowland

David Lewis

New house lands

John Davies Dole Laethty

Catherine Meredith

Thomas Hodson of Coom

John Richard

Argoed Lands

Meredith Hughes

Rowland Evans

John Shutt .

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

David Daviea
William Owens
John Owens .
Oliver Thomas
Richard Humphreys .
The Revd. Mr. Holland
Mary Davies
The Rectory
Oliver Thomas
Oliver Thomas

—

11 16 3

" Part of PwUan Township' poor leawn for ye year
1743."

Mary Davies

John Lloyd .

William Bebb

Thomas Solly and John Rowland

Edward Blayuey

Stingwern fach

Edward Moses

Hugh Bowen

Noblesworthe of Land .

Thomas Bennett

Thomas Edwards

David francis

4 18 11

'^ John Tanner ) * »

"EvanDaviks J Assessors.

Llanveclian Township.
Arthur Blayney, Esq.
Edward Pryce, Esq.
Mr. Thomas Pryce
Richard Tanner
Evan Howell
John Andrew, Rhosgoch
Thomas Evans
David Lewis
Thomaa Varnals
Richard Hodson
Richard Owen
Richard Hodson for ye Wern

1 10 11

12 10

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

John Tudor

John Tanner

The Hill Lands

The Pinfold Lands

Thomas Cowdell

Edward Pryce, Esq., and Rich'd Owen for

Ty Coch
Thomas Ellis
Pant yr onen
Eichard Evans
Thomas Einion
Mary Evans
Ponty perchill lands .
John Andrew, Caercapan
Dole dowil .
Rees Jones .
John Andrews and John Tudor for Cooni

lauds . . . .

Part of Pwllan Township,

The Rev'd Mr. Ingram

Maurice Pugh

Robert Oliver

Richard Owen

Robert Swain

Jane Price .

The Rev'd Mr. Ingram and Mr. Owen for

little house
Edward Pryce, Esq., for Bronrees

12 1

3 10

The following list of names of Magistrates, and other
Public Officers connected with the parish, may be found
interesting : —

About 1565. Rees ap Maurice of Aberbechan, Sheriff, Magistrate and

Escheator for the County.

Thomas ap Rees, son of above, Magistrate.
About 1490. Evan Lloyd Blayney, Squire to Hen. VII; Steward of

Kerry, Cedewen Arwstli, and Cyfeiliog ; Constable of

Montgomery Castle.
1577. David Lloyd Blayney, Sheriff.

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62 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

1577. Lewis Blayney, Deputy-Sheriff, Magistrate.

1598. Sir £dward Blayney, Senescbid and Lord-Lieut of Monaghan,

and the first Lord Blayney.
1606. Joh'es Blayney de Tregynan, gen., a Magistrate.
1609. John Blayney, Chief Steward of Kerry, Cede wain, Halcester

and Montgomeiy.
1611. David Blayney, gen'ros* coronat.

„ Owinus Blayney de Berriewe, gen., Magistrate.
1613. David Blayney, generosus, coronat D'mi Regis Comp'd.
1617. Joh'es Blayney de Tregjmon, ar.. Magistrate.
1620. Joh'es „ „

1622-23. Joh'es „ „

1622. David Blayney et Randulphus Parry, generosi Coronalores D'mi

Regis Com'pd.
1625. Coronator D'ni Regis Comp*d., David Blayney.
1627. Senescair D'ni Regis Comp'd.; David Blayney. gen. cap. sen. pd.
1630. John Blayney, Sheriff and Magistrate.

1632. Senescall D'ni Regis; Joh'es Blayney, ar. cap. sen.
„ Mag. Jur., Joh'es Blayney de Tregynon, ar.

1633. Joh'es Blayney, ar. (Gregynog), Chief Steward of Lordship.

„ Owinus Blayney de Ystimgweme, gen. [on the list but not on
Grand Jury].

1634. Owen Blayney de Ystymgwem, gen.

„ Kdwardus Blayney de Vacbllm (Vachwen), gen.

1638. Joh'es Blayney, ar.. Magistrate.

1639. Richard Blayney, M.P. for Monaghan, Magistrate for Ireland,

Commissioner for H.M. Subsidies.
1641.

1643. „ Sheriff.

1644. Sir Arthur Blayney, Kt., Sheriff; Adam Blayney, Deputy.
1651. Ri'cus Adams de Treygnon, gen., Jury list.

1653. James David of Aberhaley, gen.. Grand Jury list.
1662. Joh'es Blayney, ar. (Gregynog), Magistrate.
1662. Arthurus Weaver, ar. (Morville), Magistrate.
1662. Ric'cas Jones of Garthgelen, gen., Jury list
1667. Thomas Blayney, Deputy-Sheriff to A. Weaver.
1676. William Seyre of Aberhaley, gen.. Grand Jury list.

1679. Joh'n Blayney, Magistrate.

„ Edward Blayney, Magistrate.

Note, — Neither, John, nor Edward Blayney's names appear on the
list for 1680 or 1681.

1680. William Syre of Aberhaley ; Jury Panel.
„ Edward Powell, Tregoonen ; Jury Panel.
„ Thomas Soley of Pwllan ; Jury Panel.

1793. Hon. Viscount Tracy, Magistrate.

1793. Arthur Blaney „

1793. Chas. Hanbury Tracy of Gregynog, Magistrate.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 63

Coronat = Coroner. Coronat* Dn'i Regis Com,p'd. = Coroner of our
Lord the King for the said County. Senescallus D'ni Elegis, Coni,p'd
= Stewards, etc. Gen. Cap. Sen. pd. = Gentleman, Chief Steward
aforesaid.

Field-Names.

There are but few names of fields which are of
any historical value, but the following may be of
interest : —

G^vm darw = The Pile of Contention. This field is on Aber-

clawdd farm. No. 151a on the Tithe map.
Upper Cae Oastdl = Upper Castle-Field. No. 105a On Fir

House Farm.
LawefT Cae Castell = Lower Castle-Field. No. 108b. Ditto.

There is no trace of a castle here^ but the position is a

commanding one.
Cae Yeaniddallugan = Nos, 187 and 191b. On

Rhosgoch Farm.
Caer Calan = No. 301b. On Black House Farm.

Vron ddrud gam = Bdryd the Cripple's Bank. No. 343 b. On

Tynybryn Farm.
Haiy Leasow = No. 346b. Ditto.

£nv Leppa = No. 419b. On Brithdir Farm.

Thyffie = No. 496b. On Tynybandl Farm.
Cae Howell Gochwea a FfiUa = The field of the Red Howell of

the Chum. No. 464b. Opposite Bettws Church.
Maes y Domen = The Tumulus Field. No. 468b. Close to

Bettws Church.
Erw Gwidda = Erw-y-gwydd. Field sot apart for providing

implements of husbandry for the Community, by the laws

of Howell Dda. No. 471b. Close to Bettws village.

[? Geese Patch.]
Noble*8 Worth's Ground = A field on Cefngwernfa

Farm. No. 143c.
Lltvyn Lladron = The thieves* wood. No. 3 1 8c on the Rock

Farm.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Earhj Wills, — Administrations from the St. Asaph Registry,
Mont. Coll., vol. oxcviii. pp. 126, 127.

Trkqynon.

Name.

Relict.

1586.

9 June

William Biden-

Margaret Biden-

1 some

some

1587.

13 June

1 John Lewis ...

Ellen, V. Kad-
walader

1587.

26 Feb.

Richard ap Da-

Katherine, v.

vid ap Morice

Hugh

1591.

18 Jan.

William Lee ...

Margerie Lee ...

1591.

17 Feb.

John ap Rees
; ap Morice

Anne, v. Rees ...

1593.

16 July

j John Morris
Evan

1593.

Jan.

Edward Boier

Susan Boier ...

1595.

7 Oct.

Roger Warde .

Margaret Habber-
ley, als. Warde

1600.

20 May

' Walter Moston

Jane Moston ...

1601.

18 Oct

Lewis Blayney

Executors, Relatives,
Children, etc.

1638. 23 Mar.

1639.
1641.

1641.

18 Mar.
10 April

David ap John Elizabeth Moris
ap Evan

Hugh Griffith .

Catherine Rey-
nold

David Jones ...

Catherine Giiffith

10 April

16 April I William Mathews,

Son ; Roger Bidensome
Son ; David
Son ; David

Ch. : William, Bridget,

Elizabeth, Lewis
Br.: Oliver; Srs.: Elizabeth,

Joane, Margaret

David Blayney, Cler., Curate
of Tregynon, a Bondsman

Ch. Rowland, Richard Owen,
Katherine, Anne (infants)

Mathew Price, gent. (Ad-
ministrator) ; Ch. : John,
Richard, Ellis, Robert,
Thomas, Andrew, Eliza-
beth, Jane ; Owen Vaughau
of Llangedwyn. ar., and
Ed. Pryce of Aberhaves,
gen., bondsmen (200^.)

N. Robert Gibson

I Thomas Baylie of Bettws
I (principal creditor)
, Br. : Thomas

Administrations at Somkrskt Housk.

1663. Powell. Thomas, Tregynon ... Katerine Powell, relict, August 27, 1653.
1658. Blayney, Sir Arthur, Gregj'nog. Joyous (Joyce), relict, July 5, 1658,
1658. Phillippes, John, Tregynon ... Rose Phillippes, relict, March 15, 1657-8.

Wills at Somerset House to 1640.

1578. Richard Lawrence, Tregynon.
1592. William Lee „

1601. John Astley „

1614. Anne Howie, Tregynon.
1625. Jane, v. Hugh „

In 1546 — leuan Goch Benlloid — is the following
bequest : —

" Two torches and four tapers to Newtowne, two torches and

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fe^.

PAEOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 65

four tapers to tregonon. It'm one torche w*t ij tapers to the
churche of Bettus."

Archeology.

Ancient Roads. — Most of the Roman roads in this
district centre in Caersws, a Roraan station of great
importance and strength, lying about six miles south-
west of Tregvnon.

The principal Roman road, called Sarn Sws, leaves
Caersws and goes north. It is about 15 ft. broad, the
sides made of large stones fitted in with broken stones
and gravel.

It is first seen on LI wyny brain Farm, in the parish of
Llanwnog, on the verge of Gwynfynydd Common,
passing by the old British camp of that name about
one mile north of Caersws. It proceeds over the
common in a north-westerly direction, and passes on
the south-west side a small entrenchment of circular
form called locally " the Mount*' ; thence it runs to a
small rill near a place called ** the Pond ", then crosses
a bank called Esgair, and down to a stream called
Gallt-y-Ffynnon on the Aberhafesp Hall estate.

In 1760 it was very distinct here, the rain having
washed the soil off and exposed the hard surface.

It then passes through Llwydcoed Farm and was
visible on the hill called Mynydd Llyn Mawr, and
passes through Frodwen, the Heath and Court Farms in
the parish of Tregynon, to a small brook called Nant-y-
CrS,n, then to Cefn Coch, and on to Cors Llethr Aeron
— a morass. Here the straight lines on either side of
the road are seen, and the quarries whence the stone
was taken, and mounds supposed to be the remains of
the roadmakers' huts ; thence to Llanerfyl over the
Fyrnwy river, passing a public styled in 1760, ** Pass
me if you can".

This road led to Chester [Deva].

The writer believes that the road leading from
Garreglwyd Farm from the cross-roads nearGwynfynydd
Camp to Bettws is a very ancient one, passing as it

VOL. XXX. F

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66 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

does places with names such as Lluest, Wainsarniew,
Bettws and so on, between Penygaer and the Camp,
about two miles south-east of Bettws, and so to Berriew.

Cairns and Cistfaens. — Of these there seem to be no
remains in the parish, but we find the name of " Aber-
clawdd" attached to a small farm on the verge of the
moorland, though no explanation has so far reached the
writer, save that there are the remains of a large dyke
to be seen. Whether this is of any historic interest
it is hard to say, as no tradition seems now to be
attached to it. It may, however, have had some
connection with the Abbot's dyke, which used to
be the boundary of the Glynog Grange, and will be
referred to elsewhere. Not far distant, we find in
Llanwyddelan Parish, the name of Lower and Upper
" Castell ", which may in some way be connected with
the word Aber-Clawdd. In the village of Tregynon
we find again the name of " Castle Hill " given to a
small field, in which can be seen a flat place, evidently
excavated by the hand of man, where in all probability
stood a wooden castle in former days.

Looking east across the valley from Tregynon village
we see a hill, under which nestles the farm of " Hafod-
talog". This hill bears the name of "Boncyn-y-beddau"
(the Hill of the Graves), and on the top farther east
we have the same word occurring in "Wain tre beddau",
the name of another farm.

Although the writer has searched this hill and farm
diligently he could find no trace of graves ; but the
tenant of the farm called " Waentrebeddau" told him
that there was a tradition that a church once stood on
the farm. There certainly is a trace of a building
looking east and west, but it is highly improbable that
it was a church.

On the "Boncyn y Beddau" is a holy well, the
waters of which spring from the side, about half way
down. This is one of the many Trinity wells to be
found in the locality ; there is another in the parish,
near Bettws, called '' Pistyll cae PwU".

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OB* TREGYNON. 6?

It was the custom for the inhabitants to go to these
wells in procession on Trinity Sunday, each taking a
cup and a piece of sugar, and to drink of the waters of
the holy well.

This custom has died out, and was no doubt a relic
of the ancient custom of worshipping the nymph of the
well. The last person to go to Pistyll cae Pwll, for this
purpose, was the wife of Abraham Jones, of Bettws.

There is no trace of a cell on the Boncyn y Beddaw,
nor any sign of any building to be seen.

Garreglwyd Stone. — At the south-west end of the
parish, where the three parishes of Tregynon, Bettws,
and Aberhafesp meet, stands an erect stone, bearing
an inscription on its sloping top.

An account of this stone by Richard Williams, Esq.,
of Newtown, appeared in vol. xvii of the Collections,
and a further account by the present writer in vol. xxiv,
1890.

The stone is erect and of a very hard nature, about
2 ft. 8 ins. high, and the same in width ; standing in
a most commanding position, on the top of a hill
overlooking the valley of the Severn, distant about
four miles from Caersws, and known as Garreglwyd
(the blessed or holy stone). It stands in a ploughed
field about ten yards from the roadway ; but in days
gone by, the spot was part of what is known as Penllar-
likey, sometimes spelt Penllar leucu. Common.

Upon the slanting face on the top of the stone,
looking towards the west, is an inscription, as shown
on the drawing (p. 68).

The letters are about 3 ins. long and cut about a
quarter of an inch deep, and are very legible and plain.
Underneath the letters are two strokes, joined by an
irregular-looking cut, which may be a crack in the
stone.

This stone is mentioned in both Tithe and Inclosure
Awards by its present name.

Some five years ago a squeeze of this inscription was
sent to Prof. Htibner, of Berlin, as no solution of the

F 2

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

inscription had so far been forthcoming ; and the
Professor, in his letter of June 1890, replied that :

"The iDScription, as you observe, is post-Roman. The
squeeze shows the same as Mr. Owen's careful drawings : the
letters beitlli, and the strokes below, n or tt.

"It looks generally very much [like] those other Welsh
stones which we consider early Ghristian, from the sixth
century downwards. They used to contain only the name of
the person whose tomb they designated, either in the nominative
or in the genitive, and some formula like hicjacet AsB and P,
L and I, used too, are very similar in the rude palaeography of
these inscriptions, I propose., but only as a guess, to read

BFITLLI
H

Garregllyd Stone, Aberhafesp.

" The name, if it was a name, is Efitllus.
h for hie."

The 11 or h may be

Such is Prof. Hubner s opinion, though given, as he
says, as a mere guess.

In 1894, Prof. Rhys, of Jesus College, Oxford, visited
the stone with the writer, and failed to make anything
out of it : his opinion being that it is more probably
comparatively modern than ancient, and might, perhaps,
represent the initials E e. j t. L. L l of the three church-
wardens of the three parishes which meet there. The
reading of these letters still remains to be cleared up.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 69

Old Customs.

I am indebted to Mr. T. Hamer Jones, of Tyny-
baudl, for the following account of " Cyfarfod Cym-
horth", taken from Bygones, Feb. 20, 1889, in the
Oswestry Advertiser, with a note by Mr. T. Hamer
Jones ; and also for the collection of nursery rhymes
used in the parish of Tregynon and the neighbouring
districts.

" Cyfarfod Cymhorth was a meeting held for the benefit of a
poor person at whose house, or that of a neighbour, a number of
young women, mostly servants, used to meet by permission of
their respective employers, in order to give a day's work either
in spinning or knitting, according as there was need of their
assistance ; and towards the close of the day, when their task
was ended, dancing and singing were usually introduced, and
the evening was passed with glee and conviviality. It was
customary, during the earlier part of the day. for the women to
receive some presents from their suitors as a token of their
truth or inconstancy.

'' On this occasion the lover could not present anything
more odious to the fair one, than a sprig of Collen or hazel tree,
which was always a well-known sign of a change of mind on
the part of the man ; and consequently that the fair one could
no longer expect to be the real object of his choice. Tho
presents in general consisted of cakes, silver spoons, etc.,
agreeably to the respectability of the sweetheart, and were
highly decorated with flowers. If it was the lover s intention
to break oflf, he had only to add a Collen. These pledges were
handed to the respective lasses by the dififerent Caisars or
Merry- Andrews : persons dressed in disguise for the occasion,
who in their turn used to take each a young woman by the
hand to an adjoining apartment, where he would deliver the
Ftaysi or nosegay, as it was called, and immediately retire
upon having mentioned the giver's name.

** P.S. — If the Cymhorth was held in the night — which was
often the case — then the servants were not expected to ask
leave of their employers (Cambro-Briton, Nov. 1821).'*

Mr. T. Hamer Jones adds the following note : —

" A degenerated form of this meeting was called Noswaith

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70 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

laweUy or ' Merry Night' ; my father told me that he had, when
young, attended such a meeting at Glan-yr-Afon, now part of
the Freithwen Farm/'

The word Cymorth is used at the present time in
Montgomeryshire in connection with the voluntary
help given to a farmer who has just taken a new
farm, and there signifies, help to plough. In Lower
Montgomeryshire it is called ** Love Plough". In
Denbighshire [and Montgomeryshire] similar help is
given a smith m carrying coals, and is called " Cymorth
y Gof ".

The superstitions called "Deryn y Corff" and the
" Corpse Candle" are still alive in this parish.

An old inhabitant has often related to the writer a
circumstantial account of how, on a certain night, the
" Corpse Bird " came to the window of a certain
house and there uttered its mournful and weird
cry, and thence taking its departure along the route
which the funeral procession would follow. The cry
of the " Corpse Bird " was a sure and certain sign that
before a year had passed there would be a death in the
house. And this, my old informant says, he invariably
found true, giving more than one instance of the truth
of his story.

So, too, with the " Corpse Candle". A light appears
in the house, from whence no man knows, ana it is
firmly believed by many that death will come to some
member of the household before a year is gone.

The failure of this superstition to come true in many
cases does not seem to shake the faith of the super-
stitious in the absolute truth of the sign.

The " Evil Eye" is still believed in by a few !

Crying the " Mare". — There is an old custom in the
parish called " crying the mare", though why it goes
by that name the writer cannot imagine. It is a
harvest custom, and an incentive to the farmers to
finish their harvest as soon as possible ; and the first
to do so goes up on the highest ground on his farm, and

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 71

there shouts to his backward neighbours the news
that he has finished, in the following words : — '

" I have her —
What hast thou ? A mare !
Whose is she 1
Where wilt thou send her 1
To Mr. ."

The men finishing the cutting usually threw the
sickle at the last standing com stalks, holding the
sickle not by the handle but by the end of the blade.
It is a custom in some places to send a straw, or a few
straws plaited together, to the laggard farmers who are
behind the happy man who has first finished his
harvest, as a little bit of biting sarcasm.

Nursery Khymes.

" One foot up, and the other foot down,
That's the way to London Town."

** Grandsire Grig
Bought a pig,

And turned hirn in the clover ;
Piggy died,
And grandsire cried,
And all the fun wbh over."

" Little Poll parrot,
Sat up in the garret,
Eating her toast and her tea ;
There came a blind spider.
And sat o'one side her
And frightened poor Polly away."

The above is a different rendering of a very common

rhyme.

" John Jones,
He broke his bones
By tumbling over the timber and stones."

** Sweep, sweep, all up,
Without a ladder or a rope."

" Ready or no, I'm coming to spy ;
Couch close, wherever you lie,"

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72 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TKEGYNON.

" Fool in the middle and fool shall be,
Change your corners : one, two, three."

" Cant on the brickfield, cant on the green,
The biggest old cant that ever was seen.*'

" Tusw-ball, tusw-balP
Tell'un to me
What my sweetheart's name shall be."

•* Jack, cut tree' down,
Peggy, pick sticks up."

**Shoe the filly, shoe the cout (colt),
Shoe the pony round-about."

"Higydi, hog ydi
Hoeja dy hun,
Hig ydi, hun.*'

" Whitri-what I the scythe will cut.
Only the rogue is lazy.^

" Goat iite ivy, mare ate hay,
*pon tup wool grows every day."

** Three straws in a pie
Will make a baby laugh and cry."

" Dacw dy, dacw do,
Dacw efail Shon y go ;
Dacw meliu, cwiJ y gwely.
Pen i lawr, a bacca beli."

This is Welsh of a kind, but certainly not the most
intelligible. I have heard it used by children totally
ignorant of Welsh. The following has been given aa
the true reading by an old inhabitant of Tregynon :

** Dacw dy, dacw do,
Dawcw efail Shon y go ;
Dacw mali'n c'weirio'r gwely
Pen i lawr, a'i draed i fyny."

" Little Deio Dumpling
Boil him in the pot ;
Sugar him and butter him.
And eat him whilst he's hot."

1 " Tusw" = Welsh for a bunch or tuft.

2 The last two rhymes are used in imitation of whetting a scythe.

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PAROCHIAT. HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 73

" Cowardy, cowardj, custard,
Ate €^ pound of mustard."

" Tripady, tripady, trancher,
Carry the lady and launch her,
When you come to London Bridge,
Throw her in the water."

** Hay for horses, straw for cows,
Milk for babies and wash for sows."

" Trot to town, to buy a new gown,
And gallop home to make it."

" See-saw Jack a daw,
The woodcock and the sparrow
The little dog has burnt his tail
And shall be hanged to-morrow."

" Cuckoo cherry-tree,
Catch a bird and give it me."

" Give a thing.
Take a thing,
Wear the hwgan'a ring."

This is used as a retort for taking anything once
given ; but strictly speaking it is a relic of witchcraft,
a form of ** overlooking."

^ " F, for Francis,

/. for Chances,
iV. for Nicholas,
/. for tickle us,
S. for Sammy the salt box."

" A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay ;
A swaim of bees in June,
Is not a whit too soon ;
A swarm of bees July
Is not worth a butterfly."

**. The cuckoo sings in April,
The cuckoo sings in May,
The cuckoo sings at Midsummer,
And then she flies away."

" When the clock strikes nine,
*Tis high bed time.
When the clock strikes ten,
'Tis time for women and men."

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74 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

" Churn butter
In the gutter
Wash thy hands, slut!"

" Black eye, pick a pie.
Stole a goose and told a lie ;
Grey eye, greedy gut.
Swallow all the world up."

" This little pig said, * I want some red wheat',
And this said, * where shall we get it* ;
This little pig said, * in dada's barn' ;
And this said * there can be no harm',
And this little pig said, * wick, wick, wick',
I cannot get over the barn sill,
Because I am so very ill."

" The robin and the wren
Can rear nine or ten.
But the coist^ has much ado
To rear two ! two ! two ! '*

The following are used at Christmas time by
boys : —

" The cock is in the yew tree.
The hen comes chuckling by;
If you hav'nt got any money
Please give me a mince pie !
The roads are very dirty,
My boots are very thin,
I've got a little pocket,
To drop a penny in.
If you hav'n't got a penny,
A halfpenny will do,
If von hav'n't got a halfpenny,
God Bless You ! "

" I wish you a merry Christmas,
And a happy New Year,
A pocket full of money.
And a cellar full of beer,
A right good fat pig.
To last you all the year —
Please give me a New Year's gift 1 "

* " Queist", or wood pigeon.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 75

The Grange of Gelynog.

The following account of the Grange of Gelynog, by
the late Mr. E. Rowley Morris, appeared in the Mont.
Coll.y Part XIX, p. 306, and as this property lies in the
parish of Tregynon it is reproduced here.

A grange was an outlying farm to a monastery, and
such was the property in question to the Abbey of
Strata Florida, in Cardiganshire.

This property is identified on the Ordnance Maps as
Gelynog, and the boundary is to be seen in places, and
is still known as the Abbot's ditch.

A very conspicuous clump of fir trees, standing on
the Tregynon Hills, points out the place.

Mr. Morris says : —

'• Among some old legal and other papers, which Mr. William
Buckley Pagh, of Dolfor, placed in my bauds for examination,
I found a small bundle endorsed ' The Grange of Gelynog*.
These papers belonged originally to Mr. W. B. Pugh's grand-
father, Mr. W. Pugh, of Caerhowel, an eminent solicitor in this
County in the last century.

" Many years ago I saw in a book a statement, made by one
of the abbots of Strata Florida, that he demurred to a certain
case in which he was concerned being heard in any other court
in Cydewain. I regret that at the time I made no note for
reference ; but it then and has since occurred to me, that the
monks of Strata Florida must have had some interest in
Cydewain, the particulars of which, by lapse of time, had
been lost ; and I have always had a presentiment that some-
thing would turn up, sooner or later, to elucidate the question.
This bundle of old papers has fulfilled my expectations.
Thinking they would be sufficiently interesting to be pre-
served in the pages of the Montgomeryshire Collections, Mr.
W. B. Pugh, at my request, has kindly consented to their
being printed."

In the ArcJiceologia Camhrensis, Ist Sen, vol. ii,
p. 212, there is an abstract of a Roll, 32 Hen. VIII,
Augmentation OflSce. It is a comput,ation of the
revenues which fonnerly belonged to the Abbey of

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76 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYKON.

Strata Florida, and among other receipts named are

the following: —

£ 8. d.
Hehynok Firma Orangice 15 16 6

Hehynok Comortha ibidem . . . 6 13 4

It has occurred to me, since I have seen these papers,
that the probability is ** Hehynok" is an error of the
transcriber, and " Gelynog" is the proper word.

The papers relate to a legal claim set up by Lord
Tracy, who succeeded Arthur Blayney, Esquire, in the
possession of the Gregynog estates, to the exclusive
right of pasturage on Gelynog ; and I may commence
transcribing them with the following letter, which gives
a clue to the date when the cause came on, and which,
moreover, has in itself some local interest.

"Gray's Inn Coffee House, 6th June, 1796.
" Dear Sir — I have this day received Mr. David Jones's Bill and
Balance is £30 within a few shillings.

" I will pay it if I can this morning. It is determined at a
meeting here that I shall not leave town till after Saturday, in order
to see whether the Canal Tax can be settled fairly with Mr. Pitt by
negociation or not in that time.

" I will set out from here on Sunday night, and be with you by one
on Tuesday at Montgomery.

** Tracy's claim to Gelynog Grange — and your case with Eyewater —
do you, therefore, immediately send to Maesmawr for all the deeds and
papers belonging to both businesses.

" My son will have them ready for you. The bell goes round for
the letters, and I have scarce time to add that I think you should
speak to Mr. Colley to be prepared in the Gelynog business.

" I send this to meet you at the Canal Meeting in Pool. Make my
compliments acceptable to Mrs. Pugh and my friends, and believe me,
yours truly "J. Lloyd Jones.

** London, June sixth, 1797.
*'Wm. Pugh, Esq.,
" At Mr. Turner's,
" W'Pool,

" Montgomeryshire.
" W. Free. Keene."

The next paper is a schedule of the documents which
they intended to put in to sustain their case, and com-
mences with : —

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

" 12th Henry 8th, 1520-21. A lease of the grange of
Gelynoc from the Abbot of Strata Florida to GryfiFyth ap Howell
ap Jeuan Blayney for 99 years."

In the '* Miscellanea Historica" {Mont. Coll,, vol. ii,
p. 366) the enrolment of this grant is thus mentioned,
giving the name of the abbot and the parishes in which
Gelynog is situate : —

"13th Henry VIII, 2 November 1521. Enrolment of a
grant from Eichard abbot of the Monastery of the Blessed
Mary of Strata Florida, of a grange called ' Gelynnock', with
appurtenances in ^ Gregynog and Haberhaves' parishes, to
GriflBth ap Howel ap Jeaan Blayney for 99 years at six shillings
and eight pence rent (Land Rev. Eolls, N. W.)."

The following skeleton pedigree of the Blayney
family will exhibit the relationship of the above GriflSth
ap Howel ap leuan Blayney to David Lloyd Blayney
mentioned in the next document : —

Evan BlayiK

Ist Bon. I
HowelL

BLAYNEY.

iey.=pElen, d. of David ap Evan Lloyd.

2nd son. | 3rd sun. |

Owen.

1 at son, I
Orifiith ap Howell.

Ree« Wynn \
Griffiths.

2nd son. | I

Owen ap Howell. Maurice ap Owen,

Griffiths

Evan Uoyd.

I III

Wynn ap=F Howell ap Owen. Rees ap Maurice. Thomas ap
iffiths. I Evan.

— ' I

John ap Rees Wynn. Owen Blayney of Thomas ap Rees, David Lloyd

IYstumgwem. Aberbechan. Blayney,

Gregynog.
His son was Richard Price.
And his son — John Price.
And hfs son — Priamus Price = Elizabeth, d. of Leonard Gough of Marsh.

" 17th Eliz., 1574-5. David Lloyd Blayney's deed of parchasfe
of the Grainge of Gelynnock.

^' 19th Eliz., 1576-7. An exemplification from the Records
of the Court of the Council of the Marches of Wales, of a lease
of the Grainge of Gelynnock from the Abbot of Strata Florida^
to GriflBth ap Howell ap Jeuan Blayney for 99 years."

A paper concerning the grange of Gelynog.

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78 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

'^ 1st Jac. Ist, 1603-4. — An inquisition taken at Montgomery
upon the death of Lewis Blayney.''

[N.B. — The Grainge of Gelynnoch is mentioned
among the premises].

" 11th Jac. Ist, 1613-14. Conveyance from Blayney to
Herbert of several tenements {inter alia) the Grainge of
Gelynnock (not executed).

"14 Jac. 1st, 1616-17. A lease from John Blayney of
Gregynog, to F. Francis of Tregunnon, of the tenement called
Cwm 6wern-y-wheed, with ye appurtenances, etc., and lands
called the Gorsty Bank, the Calves Close, the Long Meadows ;
also another parcel of meadow adjoining to the said close,
called the 3 days Math of Hay, and 2 other closes adjoining to
the Long Meadow, all parcel of the Grainge of Galunnog.

" 18th Jac. 1st, 1620-21. The award of Edward Price.

"11th Car. 1st, 1635-6. Lease for 99 years from John
Blayney to Kichard Pryce of Aberbechan, of several tenements,
2 in possession of Thomas and William Syer, being part of the
grainge of GtJunog.

^' 14th Gar. 1st. A lease of the Grainge^ of Galunnog and
Bulkekayhaydd to Arthur Blayney,^ of Gregynnogg, from
Mrs. Clotworthy, widow of Robert Blayney,^ of Castle Blayney
in Ireland.

^ Set out in the evidence, infra,

^ Sir Arthur Blayney.

^ Robert Blayney of Castle Blayney, in Ireland, was third son of
Lewis Blayney, Esq., of Gregynog Hall, in this county ; he married
Elizabeth, daughter and heir to John Blount, of Kidderminster, and
the Manor de Nase, in the county of Worcester, Esq. ; and dying
14th March 1625, had issue of her (who married first with Thomas
Clotworthy, of Ballysaggarc, in the county of Tyrone, Esq., and after
with Francis, son of Sir Hugh Clotworthy, of Antrim, Knt.) : (1)
Edward who died unmarried before him, and four daughters : Jane
and Anne (who both died before him), and Mary and Bridget, who
became his co-heirs. Mary married, first, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry
Gore, third son of Sir Paul Gore, of Magharabeg, Bart., and by him,
who died 2ud November 1651, she had two daughters of the name of
Frances, the elder of whom died an infant ; the younger was married
to Sir Robert King, of Rockingham, Bart Mary married, secondly,
Robert Choppyne, of Newcastle, in the county of Longford, Esq., by
whom she had a daughter Bridget, who died unmarried. Bridget, the
other surviving daughter of Robert Blayney, married to Robert
Morgan, of Cotlestowu, in the county of Sligo, Esq., and died his

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 79

"15 Car. 1st, 1639-40. Sir Percy Herbert's lease of the
Freeth of Tregunnon to I. Blayney, reciting north side of said
Freeth to be bounded by meadow land part of the Grainge of
Gelynog.

" 17 Car. 1st, 1641-42. Order of the Court of Wards relating
to the grainge of Gelynnock.

** 17 Car. Ist, 1641-42. A Lease to Morris Syer from J.
Blayney of parcel of the Gelynnock Rushy meadow, 2 upper
meadows, 2 closes, mountain season.

"21 Car. 2nd, 1669-70. Mortgage in fee from Edward
Blayney of Gregynog and his estate in several parishes, and
part of the Galunog Abbey Land belonging to Strata Florida,
to Randolph Egerton, of Betterley, Sir R. Ottley, of Pitchford,
and Ri : Scriven, of Froddesley, for the consideration of £700.

" 23 Car. 2nd, 1671-72. Lease for six months from Randolph
Egerton, of Betterley, co. Staflford, Esq., Ri : Scriven, of Frod-
desley, co. Salop, to Hump : Blunden, of Worthen, co. of Salop ;
the Estate of Edward Blayney, Esq., of Gregynog, and several
parishes, etc.

'* N.B. — Some parcels part of the Abbey Land Gelanog.

" Interrogatories to be administered to witnesses in a cause
between Morgan and Blayney in the Court of Wards, concern-
ing Gelynog."

The only paper remaining of those scheduled above is
the original lease from Mrs. Ciotworthy to Arthur
Blayney, and a certified copy of the same. The original
is on parchment, and has a seal affixed ; but there is
no legible device or anything else upon the seal.

The signatures of the parties to the lease, particularly
that of Richard Blayney (for a short biographical sketch

widow in 1665. — See Burke's Landed Gentry, vol. iv, p. 14, **Morgan,
of Cottlestown'* ; and see also Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, vol. iv,
edition 1754, sub, nom., "Lord Blayney of Irelaud ". This Robert
Blayney held large estates in Ireland in addition to any Montgomery-
shire estates ; for we find at an inquisition taken after his death,
10th October 1626, that he died seized of six tates of land in the
Ballibetagh of Bally lawloght, and of eight tates in that of Bally tu 11
Cashel ; and that on 31st January 1625, Adam Howell, of Monaghan,
enfeoffed him in five tates of Kilsahowan, Killemurry, Mullaghenegan,
Escreagh and Longhillrane, and Clynarte, in the county of Monaghan,
to the use of him and his heirs for ever, after the decease of the said
Adam and his wife Margaret

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80 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

of whom see Mont. Coll., vol. viii, p. 342), are very-
fine.

The following is a verbatim copy of the lease : —

*' This Indenture made the eighteenth day of March, ad. 1638,
and in the fouiiieenth yeare of the raigne of our Sov'aigne, Lord
Charles, by the Grace of God of England, Scotland, France,
Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c., between Elizabeth
Clotworthye, of Ballenesseggart, in the county of Tyron,
widdowe, and late wife and executrix of Robert Blayney, of
Castle Blayney, in the county of Monaghan, Esq., deceased, of
the one parte, and Arthur Blayney, of Tregynon, in the Countye
of Montgomery, Esq., of the other parte. Witnesseth that the
said Elizabeth Clotworthye, for and in considerac*on of the
rents hereafter reserved hath demised, leased, sett, and to
farme lett, and by these presents doth demise, lease, sett and
to farme let unto the said Arthur Blayney, all that parcell of
waste land which now lyeth, uninclosed, commonly called or
knowne by the name or names of Bulke y Kay haydd and yr
hfin Gelynog, being part and parcel of the Grange and frythe of
Gelynog, and which is meered and surrounded with a two-faced
ditch called the Abbot's Ditche, from the rest of the Common
there, and scituat, lyeing and being in the parish of Tregynon,
and county of Montgomery aforesaid, and with the saime meers
and bounds as the premises were lately demised by John
Blayney, of Tregynon, aforesaid, Esq., unto the said Robert
Blayney, his brother. To have and to holdb all that parcell of
waste land and all other the premises with their and every of
their appurtenances unto the said Arthur Blayney, his executors,
assigns, from the first day of May next ensuing the date hereof
unto the full end and terme of one and twentie years from
thence next ensuing, and fully to be complete and ended.
Yielding and paying therefore yearely unto the said Elizabeth
Clotworthye, her executors, assigns, at her now dwelling-house
in Ballenesseggart, in the said county of Tyrone, in his
Majesty's Realme of Ireland, the sum me of fifteene pounds of
good and lawful mone of England att the feaste daies of All
Saints and of Phillipe and Jacob the Apostles, or within one
and twentye dayes next after eyther of the said feasts by equall
and even por'cons. And if it shall happen the same yeerely
rent or any parte thereof to be behind and unpaide on or after
any of the said feasts and days of payment whereon as aforesaid
it ought to be paid, that then and att any time after it shall
and may be lawfuU for the said Elizabeth Clotworthye, her
executors and assignes, into the premises or any parte thereof

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNOK. 8 1

in the Dame of the whole to re-enter, and the same and every
parte thereof to have again repossessed and enjoy as in her or
their former right, and then this present demise and indenture
and every clause and article therein contained for the benefit or
behoofe of the said Arthur Blayney, his executors or assignes,
to be utterly frustrate, voyde, and of non e Sect, anything before
in these presents mentioned to the contrary in any wise not-
withstanding. Provided, nevertheless, that if the said Arthur
Blayney, his executors or assignes, att any time dureinge the
said terme be expnised oat of the premises, and the said lands
taken from him or any of them by judgment, decree, or order
in any of his Majesty's Courts, that then and from thenceforth
the present demise shall determine and be utterly void, and
the rents therein reserved shall not be further paid by the said
Arthur Blayney, his executors or assignes, anything herein
contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.
" In witness whereof the parties aforesaid to these presents
their bands and seals have interchangeably put the day and
yeere first above written 1638.

** Eliza: Clotworthye."

Oil the back of the lease the following occurs : —

" Signed, sealed, and delivered to the hands of William
Williams, Esq., to the use of Arthur Blayney, Esq., in the
presence of

*• Price Moore
" Richard Blayney
" 39.
" William Williams
** Owen McMahon

" 16:^8."

Evidence on the part of the claimant to Galynog : —

" Richard Oliver,^ aged 75, says he has known the Galynog
ever since he came to live as tenant to Mr. Weaver, at Brithdir,
in Tregynon, 51 years ago, where he has continued to live ever
since. That the sheep walk belonging to his farm lay beyond
the Galynog, and in his way to it he would frequently walk

^ This Richard Oliver, it is probable, was only brother to Mr.
Thomas Olivei's, one of the early Wesley an Methodist preachers, a
biography of whom is printed in vol. ii, pp. 49-106, of the Lives of
Early Methodist Preachers^ edited by Thomas Jackson. 4th edition.
London, 1871 : VVesleyan Conference Office.

VOL. XXX. G

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82 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

across part of the Galynog. When going to shepherd his own
sheep, has by chance found one or two of his own, and has seen
one or two of other people's sheep on the Galynog, but very
seldom ; and has seen Evan Howell and John Rowland (Mr.
Blayney's shepherds) successively drive oflf sheep of other
persons from the Galynog. Does not remember Mr. Blayney
ever offered to inclose the Galynog, but has often heard him
§ay he had a right to enclose it every foot. That he remembers
old John Tanner, the grandfather, and John Tanner, the father
of the present John Tanner, who sold Lletty Evan Llydan to
Mr. Blayney ; all the said Tanners turned their sheep on a bank
called the Rock, part of the Galynog, and they were not
suffered to spread on any other part of the Galynog.

"Thomas Williams, aged 65, says he went to live servant at
Gregynog when between 9 and 10 years old. Has lived
and worked there ever since (except two years) ; for several
years while a servant there he used to go at washing and
shearing times to help Mr. Blayney's shepherd (John Rowland)
to collect his sheep, which were each time on the Gtilynog, and
bring them down. Upon those occasions and others, witness
has by chance seen a few sheep of other people's on the
Galynog early in the morning, and the shepherd would always
set his dogs and drive them over the great ditch. (Particu-
larizes some person's sheep, and speaks of the shepherd
having quarrels with the owners, but they were tenants of
Mr. Blayney.)

*' Anne Rowland, aged about 58, says her father became
shepherd to Mr. Blayney upwards of 40 years ago, and at that
time lived in a house called Hudson-bach, very near to the Galy-
nog. That she lived with her father 6 or 7 years after he became
shepherd to Mr. Blayney, and was used to help him take care
of the sheep, and for that purpose would be upon the Galynog
at least once a day, but generally twice a day in the summer
season ; and at the time of settling the lambs on the walk would
be there almost the whole of every day for a quarter of a year.
Knows the great ditch on both sides the Galynog. That they
kept everybody's sheep off the Galynog except John Tanner
the grandfather, and John Tanner the father, which were
always depastured on the top of the Rock above Frongoch,
part of the Galynog, and from thence towards Bwlchcaehaidd.
That her father and her were used to keep Tanner's sheep
close to that part. That in keeping off strange sheep they
used to hunt and drive them with a small dog, or two or three,
at their heels ; and if the said strange sheep were troublesome
in driving away, they would set the dogs at them, which the

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PAROCHIAL HISTOHY OF TREGYNON. 83

witness has often done. Does not know whether the owners
of such sheep have ever seen her course them, nor was she
afraid of any one seeing her do so, for her father used to tell
her that Mr. Blayney often ordered him to be sure to course oflF
all strange sheep.

" EiCHARD Evans (who himself kept some sheep) lived at
Ram Hall, close to Gelynog ; says he has shepherded the sheep
of John Bum ford on the Gelynog for the 7 years last past.
That he has all the time kept the sheep of every other person
(except those of Thomas Phillips, successor to Tanner, at Lletty
Evan Llydan) off the said Galynog, as well as the other tenants
to the late Mr. Blayney, as Thos. Lloyd of Bettws Hall,
Edward Jones of Cacappan, and Thomas Williams of Penybank.
Each of the three last mentioned have seen him drive with a
dog their respective sheep off the said Gtilynog, especially
Edward Jones, who offered witness money to let his sheep come
there, but he refused ; and after the first year Edward Jones
sent no sheep to the common adjoining the Galynog."

**The Galynog, or Gelynog, as it is variously spelt in the
preceding documents, is situated in the upper part of the
parish of Tregynon, and is marked on the Ordnance Survey
* Gelynog'. A line drawn from the village of Bettws Cydewain
to Llyn Tarw, a lake on the Llanwuog Hills, will intersect
' Gelynog*.

" From enquiries made by me recently (March 1876), I
have ascertained there are remains of the Abbot's Ditch yet
existing."

Such is the interesting account of the Grange of
Gelynog, as given by the late Mr. E. R. Morris. The
Gelynog still forms part of the Gregynog estate. The
farm called Ram Hall is now^ known as Borfahafod,
lying just beneath the conspicuous clump of firs known
as Borfahafod Firs. The writer does not recognise
the house called Hudson-bach, but »Bwlchcaehaidd,
Lletty Evan Llydan, now called Cefnllydan, and
occupied still by a Phillips, are well known.

The Abbot's Ditch is shown on the Inclosure award
on the north and south sides, and the land so enclosed
is called on the map Gelynog.

Near this place is a small farm called the Court, or
sometimes spelt ** Cwrt", which may have had some
connection with the moriiistery of Strata Florida.

G 2

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SECOND PART.

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE FOLLOWING
FAMILIES :

Blavneys of Gregynog.

Blayneys op Ireland.

Weavers of Morville Hall.

Tracy and Hanbury-Tracy — Gregynog.

Arneways of Maesmawr.

GWYNNES OF CeFNOWIFED.

Gilbert of Tregynon.

Syers of Bronhafod.

Rev. Thomas Oliver op Tregynon.

Thomas Colley of Cepngwiped.

Sturkeys op Fachwen Hall.

THE BLAYNBYS.

^^'

y^ *

Gregynog.

The ancient family of Blayney, to whom Gregynog
belonged from very early times, takes its origin from a
Prince of Powis, Brochwel Yscytlirog, probably so

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

named from the prominence of his teeth. He lived at
the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the
seventh. He opposed Ethelfred, the Northumbrian
king, in 603, and fought in defence of the monks of
Bangor Iscoed, and was defeated, when 1200 of ** the
religious", who had assembled to pray for his success,
were slain, and the celebrated seminary, with its
library, was burnt to the ground. Not being daunted,
he again assembled an army, and defeated Ethelfred in
the year 607. Ten thousand were said to have fallen,
and Ethelfred was himself wounded. There is a spring
at Shrewsbury named to his memory, and called
" Brochwel's Well ".

His arms : Sable, three nags'
heads erased argent, are to be
seen carved among the armorial
shields in the dining-room at
Gregynog Hall.

Arthur, the last of the Welsh
Blayneys, died in 1795 (but the
last Irish Blayney did not die till
1874), and left his estates to Lord
Tracy, who had married his first
cousin, and who was connected with the Blayneys at
an earlier date.

Much has been written upon this ancient family,
and further reference may be made to the Mont-
gomeryshire WcyrthieSy by Richard Williams, F.R.
Hist. S., and to papers in the Montgomeryshire
Collections, viz. : 1. ** The House of Gregynog," by
Rev. G. Sandford, M.A., vol. xviii. ; 2. ** The Family
of Blayney," by E. Rowley Morris, F.S.A., vols. xxi.
and xxii. ; 3. ** The Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire," by
Rev. W. V. Lloyd, M.A.. F.R.G.S. ; and it is mainly
from these and other sources that the following account
of the Blayneys is compiled.

• The pedigree of the Blayneys has been vouched for
by the eminent Herald, Lewis Dwnn, who made a
Visitation of Arms in North Wales in the sixteenth

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86 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

century. He was a Montgomeryshire man, a poet,
historian and gentleman, as well as a genealogist.
He is supposed to have lived at Glanbechan, in the
parish of Bettws, and married a lady of the name of
Lloyd, who owned Cefnjgwestydd, in the parish of
Llanllwchaiarn.

The following is an abridged Pedigree of the

Blayneys.

Griffith ap lerwerth ap Owen ap Bodri ap Gwaeddan ap Brochwel=
ap Aeddan ap Cyngen ap Eliseg ap Gweliawg ap Beli ap Mael
Myngan ap Selyf Sarph Cadam ap Cynan Garwyn ap Brochwel
Ysgythrog, c. 617.

Meilir Gryg of Llwyn Melyn, abt. 1197. = Dyddgn, da. and coheir of Meredith
ap Kobt. ap Owen Gwynedd.

Llewelyn. = Alswn, da. and coheir of Meredith ap Robt. ap Llowarch.

Einion. = Gwen'vyr v' Philip ap Griffith of Manavon, etc.

Llewelyn. = Ankret, y* Adam ap Madock ap Idnerth ap Oadwgan ap

Elystan....

Llewelyn Vychan. = Marg't v* Ynyr Vychan ap Ynyr ap Meyrick of

Nanney.

Griffith. — Elen, v' Ednyved Lloyd ap Griffith ap Evan ap lerwerth Goch of

Maelor.

Evan Blaeney. = Elen, v* Llewelyn ap David ap Evan Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap
Tudyr of MathavarD,

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PAROCHIAL HISTOKY OF TREGYNON.

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Anna Maria, Edward,
bapt. 1703; bapt. 1710,
ob. 1700. ob. 17ir>.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 89

The first Blayney of whom we have any account is
Evan Blayney, who appears on the Burgess Roll of
Welshpool in 1406 (Henry TVs reign), as '* Evan
Blayney of Tregenon ;" but nothing more is known of
him except that he was, through his sons Owen,
GriflSth, Howell, the founder of the Prices of Aber-
bechan, the Blayneys of Gregynog, and the Lords
Blayney of Castle Blayney, in Ireland, the Blayneys of
Ystymgwern (Stingwern), and the Prices of Manafon.

The Bard, Lewys Glyn Cothi, has written a poem^ in
memory of Owen and Griffith Blayney, portions of
which are thus translated :

Written in fifteenth Centunj,

" White as the Lily
Are the swans of Tregynon,
Leaders of men are the two
Scions of Jeuan Blayney.
Owen, stout i^ the point of his spear
And Griffith, a stag of gentle birth
Griffith is submissive to rule
And equally privileged is his brother Owen.
The two men like two oak trees,
Are their fair country's limbs —
What living man with a head on his shoulders
Will watch without his eyes ?
Or who or what manner of men.
Would run through the world without feet ?
What land without the two chieftains
Of steel would be worth a half penny 1
To these two men would I go down from my own district,
Through the rapid stream, through the blazing heath,
Through the blue ice, through the marble stone,
Through extremity of fire, through the waves of the sea.
I am like — let none be envious —
To a bowman with a fair arrow,
Who keeps running with his bow
Between two targets —
I run and tarry not long
In a circle between two mansions.^

^ Yr Eleirch val yr alaw

Qwynion o Dref-Gjrnon draw. — Lewys Gbfn CothVs Works, vi, v, 1.
2 Owen's mansion was at Aberbechan — Griffith's mansion ut
Gregynog.

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90 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGY.NON.

To yonder mansion will I walk to obtain a gift,

And so on from mansion to mansion

Were I older than the aged eagle.

This would I obtain in the mansions of my friend,

Meat, Shrewsbury ale, and mead,

As sparkling as bright Gwynedd

Once upon a time there were two brothers.

Who built Rome and its towers ;

Here are two other brothers

The very image of the first two.

The two great ones are they in Cedewen,

May their lives be as long as two ages of the stag."

Owen Blayney was the first to settle at Aber-
bechan. He was deputy steward to the Duke of York
for his manor of Cedewain, and afterwards Esquire of
the body to Edward VI.

Owen Blayney's grandson, Rees ap Maurice of Aber-
bechan, was sheriff in 1565. He was a Magistrate
and Escheutor for the County, and his son was also a
Magistrate.

" Huw Arwystli," a famous Welsh Bard, has written
a fine poem — one of the finest, it is said — about Rhys
ap Maurice Blayney, from which I give the following^
translated extracts. There are many allusions to Rhys
ancestors, which confirm their claim to descent from
Brochwel : —

Written between 1540 and 1590.

** As the pious Samuel, the man of Knowledge
Was in like manner seer to Saul

A seer day hy day under a Prince
So am I also to thee Rhys.

I saw the form, fairer is the sight,

Of a wheel revolving in the hand of God —

One l»y his Grace and Providence, ascends

Another He abases continually.
Call earnestly upon God that thou may est attain,
By prompt liberality to the summit of the wheel.
Tliou art revolving on it, Rhys ;

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 91

Great is thine estate inherited from thy father MoryR.*

Thou art, as the story goes, a forward shoot

From the stock of the noble Teiian Blaenau,

Of the golden yew trees in the hind of Cydewen ;

Of the grafting of old Meilyr ;'^

Bearing gallantly the office of a raan

Of the ancient blood of Deuddwr.^

Of two great lineages is thy daughter —
Tudor Rhydderch is a father of gifts —
Thy progeny has traced its descent
From an ancient line of countless heroes."

" Thy good will is ever on the increase.
Weighted with good cheer, Rhys, is the board of thy spouse,
Gwenllian,-* who is like a fruitful vineyard,
On a hill renowned for its wines —
Her father, John, a scion of chieftains.
In high station, was a man of excellent understanding.
Her foster mother was also actively brought up ;
None were more highly descended than she.
How good and firm a magistrate art thou
Receiver and squire, a gallant youth !
Be cautious in proportion as thy favour increases —
Thou art young and rising in the world.
The shoot that springs from a well-ploughed crop."

Rhys is mentioned as a magistrate. Down to the
time of Henry VIII, Montgomery was not a County ;
but when it was so made, the local Chieftains, Sene-
shals, etc., were made magistrates. Rhys' name
appears as " Armiger " or Esquire in 1543. He aspired
to the Golden Collar of knighthood, then a great
honour; but seems to have died without attaining it.

Huw Arwystli ends the poem with :

** If 1 may be believed we may expect,
That thy collar will be rather yellow than dark.

^ Maurice, son of Owen, son of Evan Blayney.

2 Meilyr Orug, sixteenth in descent from Bri»chwel Ysgythrog.

^ The blood of Brochwel Ysgythrog.

* Gwenllian's grandfather was Esquire of the Body to Henry VII.,
steward of Kerry, Cydewen, Arwystli and Cyfeiliog, and Constable of
Montgomery Castle.

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92 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Never weary of distributing yellow gold,

And ore long thou wilt wear the golden chain."

This Rees ap Owen ap Morris farmed the rectory of
Llanllwchaiarn (the parish in which his seat, Aber-
bechan, was situated), under the the Nunnery of
LlanUugan.

Poem hy Sir leuan of Cnmo about Bkj/s, addressed to Huw Arwstli by
the Vicar of Camo, whose pairon was probably Rhys,

" In fair Cedewain, read
Thy poem publicly to the Justice,
His line of descent in couplets of gold.
And quaff the wine of thine host.
It is pleasant to look on the feaat ;
The beer being freely and persistently brought,
And the dainties of the cooks from the kitchen;
And the mansion ; and the multitude of guests ;
And the host grave and comely, vigorous and silent ;
And the men of his mansion at his side ;
And his excellent wife, young, amiable and wise,
The feast will maintain the maiden's greatness.
Gwenllian supplied us plentifully with wine.
To Rhys Blaeney be praise ascribed, who invited the guests.
A countenance full of intelligence —
His fame is like a ball of gold, a shining pillar,
Long may Aberbechan flourish !
His father was the glory of the Country,
Its rampart and its stem was Morys,
Rhys too in his turn has ever been virtuous.
Next to Rhys his country's rampart". ...

Thomas ap Rees, or Thomas Price, son of the Rhys
mentioned above, married a daughter of Sir Thomas
Pugh of Mathavarn, and his daughter and sole heiress
married Sir Richard Price of Gogerddan. In their
grandson the Prices of Aberbechan became extinct.

There is another poem given in the "Sheriffs of
Montgomery," by Huw Arwstli, which begins : *' Duw
a wnai gynt enwog I6n."

We now pass from the elder branch, which became
extinct in Sir Richard Price of Aberbechan (the male
elder line became extinct with Thomas ap Rees), to the
descendants of Griffith, son of Evan Blayney.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 93

But little information is given of Griffith s son, Evan
Lloyd, except that he was Enquire to Henry VII,
Steward of Kerry, Cedewen, Arwystli and Cyfeiliog,
and Constable of Montgomery Castle, or of his grandson
Thomas; but his great-orrandson, David Lloyd Blayney,
was Sheriff in 1577. He was styled of Gregynog, and
probably held a large estate, despite the operation of
the law of gavelkind, which was in vogue in Wales
from very early days. Out of forty-five families,
descended from Brochwel Yscythrog, there are not
more than one or two direct male representatives
owning property in Montgomeryshire.

There were Blayneys at Carno, Gregynog, Maesmawr,
Aberbechan (Prices), Ystymgwern^ (Stingwern), and
Manafon (Prices), all now extinct.

The last Blayney, Cadwallader Davies, twelfth Baron
Blayney of Castle Blayney, died unmarried in 1874.

David Lloyd Blayney had three sons, and little is
known of him : 1, Lewis of Gregynog ; 2, Captain
Thomas ; 3, Sir Edward, knight and soldier.

The history of the Family now divides itself between
the Blayneys of Wales and the Blayneys of Castle
Blayney, Monaghan, Ireland, and it will be more fitting

^ The following memo, throws light on the Ystymgwera
Blayneys : —

** Mem. : that I, Owen Blayney, ye .... of Estynagwern, gent.
.... doe heai'by acquitt and discharge Jo*n Blayney of Tregynon,
Esq'r, his execntors and (....) of and from ev'y sume or sumes of
money due unto me ye said Owen for ye price of two messuages and
Tent's in Tregynon aforesaid, wh: of I have formally (. . . .) unto
ye said John Blayney, as witness hearwith my hand ye said day and
year.

"OB Ye mark of Owen Blayney

J NO Blayney
" Witness,

** Thomas ap Bees.
**Iemy*r Thomas."

Thomas ap Rees, Owen Blayney and John Blayney were g: g: grand-
sons of Evan Blayney of Gregynog. Thomas was of Aberbechan,
Owen of Ystymgwem.

The signature of John Blayney is good, Owen could not write.

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94 PAKOCHIAL HISTORY OF TKEGYKON.

first to describe the history of the Irish Branch,
starting from its founder (in Ireland) Sir Edward
Blayney, Kt., created (in 1621) Lord Blayney.

Irish Blaykeys.

Mr. E. R. Morris gives a long and interesting account
of the Irish Blayneys in his Paper called " The Family
of Blayney" in the Montgomeryshire Collections^
vol. xxi.

David Lloyd Blayney.

Sir Ed. Blayney, Ist Lord Blayney, =i= Anne Loftus, da. of Archbishop oi
ob. 1629. I Dublin.

I 1 I 2

Sir Henry Blayney. =f=Jane, da. of Lord Sir Artbiir.=y=JoycQ Blayney,

Drogheda. heirass to John

Blayney of
Greygnog.

Edward Blayney, 8rd Lord. Richard, 4th Lord.=j= Eliz. Vincent.

Henry Vincent, =M. Moore, da. of William, =p Mary, da. of Jane:=Blay-

5th Lord. LordlTullamore. 6th Lord,

Viscount ney

Carlemont. Owen.

Henry, died young. Cadwaliader, 2nd son, 7th Lord.=j=Mary Touchet.

Charles Talbot, = Eliz. Mahon. Cadwaliader, 9th Lord. =7= Eliz. Tipping.
8th Lord. I

Cadwaliader Davies, 10th Lord. Anclrew 'ihoiua8,=f=Lady M. Alexander.

11th Lord. I

Cadwaliader, 12th Lord, died 1874.

SiK Edwakd Blayney, Knight, third son of David
Lloyd Blayney, of Gregynog, was a soldier in Queen
Elizabeth's reign, and served both in Spain and the
Low Country. Thence he went to Ireland, and appeai-s
as a Colonel in 1598 under Lord Essex, commanding 100
foot soldiers in Leiuster, where he distinguished himself

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 95

at the Battle of Four Mile Water, near Dundalk, in
1600. He WiiS knighted for bravery in 1603, made
Governor of the garrison of Monaghan, and in 1604
Seneschal and Governor of the County of Monaghan,
and in 1606, James I granted him a lease of the
Castle town and lands of Monaghan with three Bally-
beatags adjoining, for twenty-one years at £3 rent.

In 1607, he was rewarded with the grant of the
Mucknoe, or as it is now called, Castle Blayney
Estate.

In 1620, Orders were enrolled for granting him
certain inland forts and castles in Monaghan.

" It is to be passed in fee farm at the rent now reserved,
with condition only not to alieti it to Irish, nor devise the lands
to them above twenty-one years ; but the Patentee, before his
Patent doth pass, is to acquire some other Convenient place in
this County, as our Deputy shall think fit, in fee simple, and
100 acres of land unto it, and give assurance as aforesaid to
hxiild a Castle upon the said lands, the said Castle and lands to
be subject to the Covenants and Conditions above set down for
the rest of the said forts (this relates to their size, construction
and repairs), and a proviso only, that the said Castle of Mona-
ghan shall not be sold or leaded to Irish other than is aforesaid
mentioned."

In or ahoat 1620 he was made an Irish Petr with the
title Lord Blaynky — Baron Monaghan, " in con-
sideration of his services as an able Counsellor during
the Peace, and of his great services in the Wars of the
Low Countries, Spain and Ireland, and his experience
in all military affairs". He also received a license to
make aqua vitse in the County of Monaghan except
at two places.

In 1621, Sir Edward, now Lord Blayney, passed a
patent for the Castle baron and circuit of the Castle of
Monaghan, to be held as the Castle of Dublin by
fealty, and rent of £5 6s. 8d. with the erection of the
lands with the Manor of Monaghan, a demesne of
800 acres, a Thursday market, and two fairs thereon
1st July and 11th November.

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96 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

He was obliged by his grant to " plant" six tenants
at least, born in England or of English parents, with
an Estate for lives, on these lands. In or aboiU 1607,
he had built Castle Blayney, fort and dwelling-house,
overlooking Lough Mucknoe, close to the site of the
present Castle.

The following description in the Careto MSS. is
given of the Castle.

" Sir Edward Blanye hath buylte a very large Bawne (a fort)
w'th lyme and stone 18 foote hi^h, well flanked w'th Bullwarks
upon his land of Balline lurgan, in the said Countie of Mona-
ghan. Upon the Bawne is buylte a fay re gatehouse and two
other houses of lyme and stone, upon two of the coi'ners of
the Bawne w'ch flanke the whole worke, they containe two or
three Roonies of Lodgings apiece with chimneys ; in which
Bawne he is buyldinge a faire and spatious house of stone
worke already two yards high above the ground, the walls of
great thickness w*th vaults, all buylte upon his own charges."

This building enclosed 100 yards square, and the
house was like Old Gregynog Hall : four flanklets at
each corner, three storeys high, fort, gatehouse and
ditch outside the walls, between the flanklets a stone
curtain, all overlooking Lough Mucknoe.

In 1610 Sir Edward received further grants of land
in the Barony of Monaghan tn tricst for several persons
to whom the land had been allotted. He was greatly
esteemed by the Government, and many of his letters
to Lord Essex are at Longleat, in which he gives a
melancholy description of the country, saying most
land he had was ivaste, and he was trying to get
Scotchmen over. His last days were tortured by
disease, and he died 11th February, 1629, and was
buried at the church at Monaghan. '* With scuchions
only w'th out silk workes or herald's attendance, by
reasone of the officers of armes were busied at the
same time about the Countesse of Corke's funerall."

He was M.P. for Monaghan in both King James's
Parliaments, a Privy Councillor, and on the Council
for the Government of Munster. He married Ann

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 97

Loftus, daughter of the Archbishop of Dublin, she
having been twice married before. They had eight
children : Sir Henry, second Lord Blayney ; Sir Arthur
of Shien Castle ; Anne, Jane, Mary, Elizabeth, Martha
and Lettice.

The following record of Sir Edward s funeral is at
Dublin Castle.

Souldiers w'th pikes and coloures tray led

The poor 2 aud 2
Servantes to gentlenien that mourue

Mr. James Moore's servantes

The younge Lo : Blayney's servantes

The Defunctes servantes

The Defunctes two pages

Steward and Comptroller w*th staves

The Preacher

Mr. Edward Blayney

Mr. Thomas Blayney

the younger

Mr. Ambrose Blayney
Mr. Richard Blayney

The younge Lord Blayney alone

Littfe Mr. Edward Blayney and Mr. James

Mr. Arthur Blayney and Thomas Blayney

Two Groomes

' Souldiers againe as before.**

His arms were : Diamond, three horses' heads
erased pearl. Crest : On a wreath, a horse's head
coupled pearl, bridled ruby, having his forehead
covered with armour, and a spike in the midst like
that of a target proper. Suppor*ters : Two horses'
diamond, with bridles, saddles and hoofs topaz.
Motto : ** Integra mens augustissima possessio" (An
honest mind is the most noble possession.)

In Bye-goneSj June 10th, 1884, appears a further
account of the Irish Blayneys signed '* Permam" (the
late E. Uowley Morris), in which he says : —

** In the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1591-
1594, p. 495, it is stated that on the 80th of April of the latter
year, letters were addressed to the Lord Lieuteuants of several
Counties, ainong them Moutgomery, to levy men to serve iu
Ireland.

VOL. XXX. U

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98 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON.

'* The Montgomery quota was 50 men. It is probable that
with this detqjchment went Edward, a cadet of the Gregynog
family, who afterwards became the first Lord Blayney ;
he had served from his birth both in Spain and the Low
Countries.

*' He was in command of 100 foot-soldiers in the province
of Leinster in the year 1598, and in Sept., 1599, at Newry,
with 150 {Mory son's Itiuermy, chap. i. pp. 21-42, edition 1617).
He distinguished himself at what was then called The Four-
mile Water, a ford all environed with woods, in the midst of
the dangerous pass called The Moyry, between Dundalk and
Newry, in the year 1600, and was knighted by the Lord
Deputy, Lord Monntjoy, on the 27th May, 1603 (Garew MSS.,
Lambeth, 1603, 1624, p. 383).

" In the Hon. Evelyn Phillip Shirley's History of tJie. County
of Monayhan there are names of persons associated with Lord
Blayney, which names, it is more than probable, were those of
Montgomeryshire men. At his Lordship's funeral, which took
place on the 11th of February, 1630, the following gentlemen
acted as Pall- Bearers; —

*' Mr. Edward Blayney, Mr. Thomas Blayney the younger,
Mr. Ambrose Blayney, Mr. liichard Blayney. The mourners
were the young Lord Blayney, alone, then * little' Mr. Edward
Blayney, Mr. Arthur Blayney, and Mr. Thomas Blayney.

" The first Lord Blayney had only two sons, the young ' Lord
Blayney' above and Arthur the 'little Mr. Edward Blayney*
was the grandson, and third Lord Blayney. The other Blay-
ney s do not appear to have been lineal connections of the first
Lord, hence I infer they were some hitherto unidentified
members of the Montgomeryshire families of Blayneys. In
the rebellion of 1641, when Mr. Richard Blayney, son of
Lewis Blayney of Cregynog, was hung by the Rebels, the
following among others were murdered with " skeins" or
swords : John Francis, Edward Lewis and William Jones.
There was also a son of the Rhiw-Saeson family associated
with the first Lord Blayney : it was his great-grandson, Blayney
Owen, who married for his second wife Mary, eldest daughter
of Henry Blayney of Cregynog, and sister^ to Arthur, the last
male in the family. This Blayney Owen had previously
married Jane, daughter of Richard, fourth Lord Blayney.

*' There are representatives now [1884] from each of these
marriages. Amongst other persons who were massacred in

1 Mary was aunt to Arthur. — W. S. O.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRBlOYNOI^. 99

this Rebellion associated with the Blayneys were Mr. William
Williams, Mr. Gabriel Williams, his brother, Mr. Ithell Jones,
* liis brother-in-law' "who came newly out of Wales to visit
him'*, John Hughes, * a husbandman.'

'* There was aJso a Lewis Blayney, but not massacred. The
Richard Blaynev who was hung was Sheriflf of Monaghan in
1605, *9, no, 11, and '12, Robert Blayney 1618-19, Thomas
Blayney 1620, Robert 1621, Richard Blayney above represented
the County of Monaghan, 1634 to 1639, and Arthur — after-
wards Sir Arthur — of Shien Castle, was returned in 1634 for
the borough of Monaghan. It was he who married Joyce,
only daughter of John Blayney of Cregynog. The Blayneys
who went to Ireland accumulated immense tracts of laud, yet
' little' Edward Blayney, the third Lord, sold the whole of his
estates in 1648 and 1653, to Thomas Vincent, of London.

"This Lord Blayney is buried at St. Martin's Church,
Charing Cross, London ; he died a bachelor, and was succeeded
by Richard, his brother, who by his marriage with Elizabeth,
daughter of the above named Thomas Vincent, recovered the
whole of the Estates. There are Blayneys in Irelaiid at the
present time (1884), but the lineal descendants of Mary, eldest
sister [aunt. — W. S. O.] of Arthur Blayney of Cregynog, are
the Mitchells of Drumreask, in the Parish of Tednavet, Co.
Monaghan "

Sir Henry Blayney — Second Lord Blayney, — He
was the eldest son of Sir Edward, tirst Lord Blayney,
and was knighted during his father s lifetime, and took
his seat as a Peer, 14th July, 1634.

He lived in the time of the Irish Rebellion, and his
Castle and town of Castle Blayney was taken by the
rebels under Hugh Mac Patrick Duflf MacCall Mac-
Mahon. He and his family were turned out of his
house and lands and made prisoners, and his rents taken
by the rebels. He made a disposition of his losses,
which were : Rents, £1150 per annum, horses £237,
cattle £800, plate £500, linen £500, sheep £125,
household stuff in his two houses at Ciistle Blayney
and Monaghan 1000 marks, money £296, debts £400,
his library £500, besides other things. From this
deposition it seems his estate was chiefly in the Barony
of Cremorne, and consisted of : —

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100 PAIU)CH1A.L HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Two Ballybetaghs of Ballilurgan and Ballekoacklurk.

The Manor of Mucknoe, containing : —

Three Ballybetaghs called Ballelisdrum maghlis, Balledrumacas,

Balledrumim.
4 Tates or townlands in the Ballybetaghs of Ballinteane.
2 do in do of Ballitneeskeaghone.

4 do in do of Ballelackie.

In 1641, Mr. Richard Blayney, Sir Arthur's nephew,
and probably one who had come over from Gregynog
and had been "planted" on Lord Blayney's estate,
was taken prisoner by the rebels, being much hated by
them, who were the ancient owners of the land and
had been supplanted by the Welsh men, and with the
Parson thrown into the dungeons of the Gaol of
Monaghan. The former gives the following description
of their treatment : —

" A place (the dungeon) of that noysomness that they were
almost stified, the dungeon was so little and the people so
many, being some 48 persons, that they were fain to lie one
upon another. After seventeen days they were released,
having suffered greatly from want of food and clothing — some
were set at liberty, others murdered with skeins (swords), some
drowned, and some hanged, amongst whom was Mr, Richard
Blayney and an unknown Englishman/'

Mr. R. Blayney was Knight of the Shire, J. P., and
Commissioner of His Majesty's subsidies in the County.
The following description is given by an eye-witness of
the death of this unfortunate gentleman : —

*' He was brought down from the ladies' chamber in the
Castle, fettered in irons, and carried to the back side, and told
he must die, and that instantly, for he had lived too long to
bear sway amongst them ; and having their priest near by,
he was asked whether he would be reconciled ? He answer'd
as some of them confessed.

" * T am of the true Church, and so assured of my salvation,
that though you would spare me my life I will not alter my
faith. . . . ' He was asked if he wished to see his own
Parson which he desired, but his request was not complied
with. His answer being : —

'' ' Truss him up, he goeth deep enough into hell, he needs

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP THEGYNON. 101

no minister to plunge bim deeper/ So they hanged him to a
tree in the orchard, stripped him, flung his body into the ditch,
where he lay two days unburied.'^

A most graphic description of the misfortunes of the
family is still preserved in the handwriting of Lady
Blayney, and which is too interesting, as showing the
state of the country at that time, to omit from this
account.

*' Forty-one, I was taken by the MacMahons and O'NeaVs

party at my from thence I was carried to Carrick

McRoss where I had on but turf and when

the rebels heard they had missed the taking of Dublin they
would not let me stay at Carrick, because they .... it was
too near to my friends, but the next day made me go to Castle
Blayney, and when I came there I found iny house plundered.
Thus I was kept three days, and then I went to Monaghan
where I found that house also plundered. There I was kept
some weeks, and one day I was brought into the dining-room
and bid look out of the window and I wM see what fruit the
tree bore ; there they showed me my cousin, Richard Blayney,
my lord's cousin-German hanging on a tree, and told me if
any of my brothers or my lord did draw a sword against them,
I and all mine should suffer as my cousin Blayney had ; and
when the siege of Drogheda was raised, the Irish heard that
my own son and my brother were with a party abroad seeking
to relieve me ; then they brought me out of my own house and
put me in a house in the town, and when they had me and my
eight children in the house they locked the door and put fire to

the house, it was almost burnt down, but put us out

before the house fell, then they carried me to a hill, which was
near the town, and made me see my own house and all the town
burnt to the ground ; then they did take me to Anaghah, and
when they heard the English were come abroad, they then carried
me and my children through the bogs and woods from one
wood to another, for then they would not let me be two days
together in one place, and I had nothing to drink but water out
of the puddle, nor had we anything to eat but what we found
thrown out. One of my children came to me with joy and told
me he had got a sheep skin, and that he had broiled it, and it
was very good meat and brought me some of it to eat, and I
and my children did eat very heartily without bread or salt.
They would often threaten to kill me and my children, and told
me it was no sin, for those out of the ark were drowned.

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102 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON.

therefore it was no sin to kill me and mine. I had not so much
as straw to lie on, nor nothing to drink the puddle water out
of most times but a dirty greasy old hat, and when I was tired
with going through the bogs and my feet wonld stick in them,
they would beat me with the butt end of their pikes and tell
me I only loytered till the English came up to me. My
daughter Penelope was upon the breast, the nurse would some-
times lag behind, being weary, and then they beat her, and
take the child and put it on the butt end of their pikes, and in

one hour s time the child fell times, which bruised

her and broke one of her ribs, of which she died soon after.
I was months in this sad condition, my friends were all very
careful in seeking for me, but nowhere cM be found for to
release me, till my brother did seize on a monastery, and then
he sent for to release me and my company in exchange for

them which and there was besides the Nuns an

oflBcer, that had been taken prisoner, and had lost an eye by
some accident, which the Irish party were very much concerned
for, and took my eldest daughter and tyed her in a chair, and
resolved to put out her eye, as this man had but one, she must
not have two ; but when the officer which came with the men
declared they would serve them in the same manner, without
they would forbear that cruelty, at last he prevailed on them to
desist". . . .

After relating as to the suppression of the Rebellion,
the death of Lord Blayney, her husband, at the battle
of Banbury, and Blayney 's estate being valued at
£2,500 per annum, which they lost, the account ends.

Edward, third Lord Blayney, died unmarried 1669,
and sold all his estates to Thomas Vincent, a merchant
of London.

Richard, fourth Lord Blayney, married the daughter
and heiress of the above T. Vincent, who had purchased
his brother Edward s estates, and received as a dower
all the estates sold to Thos. Vincent. He died 1670.

Henky Vincknt, fifth Lord Blayney, Commander of
the Protestant Forces of the Counties of Armagh atid
Monaghan. He caused King William and Queen Mary
to be proclaimed in the North of Ireland. Being asked
by James IL to embrace his service, he made answer :
** That he had now, thank God, a King upon whose
word he could depend, but never would on his, without

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PABOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREOYNON. 103

his sword in his hand". He sold in 1680 most of the
estates, especially in Monaghan, which have passed
throujD;h the families of Cairnes, Murray, Cuiininghame,
and now belong to Lord Rossrooi-e, and are known as
the liossraore estates.

William, sixth Lord Blayney.

Cadwallader, seventh lord Blayney, He sold
further portions of the estate to the Uptons, Vis-
counts Terapleton.

Charles Talbot, eighth Lord Blayney. He was
Rector of Mucklenoe.

Cadwallader, ninth Lord Blayney. In 1713 the
rents had dwindled to £650. He was Colonel of 38th
foot.

Cadwallader, tenth Lord Blayney.

Andkkw, eleventh Lord Bhiyney, Major-General.
A good landlord and improved his estate. He pulled
down the old Castle, and built the present house.

Cadwalladkr, twelfth and last Lord Blayney, died
unmarried in 1874. He had sold his estate in 1853 to
H. T. Hope, Esq., of Deepdene, Surrey.

So ends the history of the Blayneys of Ireland : no
male heir has so far been found, though there may still
be a representative alive, though unknown.

Lewis Blayney, oh. 1600. — We must now take up
again the story of the Blayneys of Gregynog with Lewis
Blayney, son of David Lloyd Blayney of Gregynog.
He was Deputy Sheriff to his father in 1577 and 1585,
and appears as a Magistrate in the 35th year of Eliza-
beth's reign. He married Bridget, daughter of John
Price, of Newtown Hall, who was Sheriff in 156G.
There are four elegies in the Add. MSS., 14,874, No.
22, on Lewis Blayney, by Gruffydd Hafren, leuan
Tew, James Dwnn, and Sion Mawddy.

The following entry was found in an old book

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104 PAKOOHIAL HISTORY OF TKKGYNON.

belonging to the Prjces of Park, relating to Lewis
Blayney : —

" [Yn y] Fluyddyn 1601, y Cauodd y

Farwriad Lewis Blayney

.... Esq., yn Sir Drefaldwyn ar unwaith

.... [Gruffydd] Hafren, leuan Tew, James Dwnn
.... Sion Mowddy."

John Blayney, son of Lewis Blayney, was Sheriff
in 1630 nnd 1643, and a County Magistrate. He
married Elizabeth, daughter of Jenkin Lloyd of
Berthllwyd. He was a staunch Royalist. The inscrip-
tion on the Blayney monument in Tregynon Church
says of him : ** he faithfully served and suffered for
ye Royal 1 Martyr." He was one of the gentlemen
deemed *^fit and qualified to be made Knight of the
Royal Oak." This order was intended by Charles II
as a reward to several of his followers, and the knights
of it were to wear a silver medal, with a device of the
King in his Oak, pendent to a ribbon about their
neck ; but it was thought proper to lay it aside, ** lest
it might create heats and animosities, and open those
wounds afresh which at that time were thought
prudent should be healed." His estate was valued at
£1000 per annum in the year 1660.

Names of those who were deemed Jit to he members of the proposed
Order of the KnigJUs of the Royal Oak in the County of Mont-
gomeryshire, 1660.

John Pugh, EsqVe £1000 of Matharvan

John Owen, Esq're 1000 of Russerton

John Blayney, Esq're 1000 of Gregynog

Roirer Lloyd, Esq're 0800 of Talgarth

Richard Owen, Esq're 0800 of Garth

Richard Herbert, Esq're 0700 of Meivod

Edward Wareinge, Esq're 0700 of Aberhavesp Hall

Sir Edward Lloyd 1200

We have a note of his borrowing £100 from Mr.
Arthur Weaver, of Morville, with whose family his
great-grandson intermarried.

John Blayney and, in fact, all the members of his

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREOYNON. 105

family, seem to have come out of this troublous time
very well. Although he was a strong Royalist, he
seems to have escaped forfeiture of his estates, or even
compounding for them : owing, perhaps, to the good
offices of one Owen Andrews. Some of his property,
as will appear below, was sequestrated, but he escaped
the fines.

This letter is amongst the Delinquency papers : —

" Owen Andrewes, 29 Jane, 1652. — Mr. John Blayney and
SV Arthnr Blayney, of Tregynon, in Montgomeryshire, and
Mr. John Price, of Llanvylling, a papist and a father of papists
and popish priests. AH three excused as noe delinquents by
your kindnesse and favour and the Sub-Committee in ye
Country.— Owen Andbewks/'

Note at the foot dated 29 Aug., 1652. — " Mr. Andrewes
exhibits this, and will, as he alledges, make it good."

The late Mr. E. R. Morris gives the following
account relating to the abave delinquency : —

" A Petition of Peregrine Palmer, Esq., a member
of the House of Commons, showing that Bram-
beth and Combmill, in the Co. of Montgomery, are
sequestrated for the delinquency of John Blayney^
Esq., that as these (and other premises in other Coun-
ties named in the Petition) are the petitioners right,
that the sequestration be discharged." There is no
date, but there is a pencil entry on the left margin,
"7 ApT 47", and on folio 11, *' An order for the dis-
charge of the sequestration dated 8 Sep. 1647".

" There are no papers relating to the delinquency
of John Blayney above among the Records ; but as
the numbers from 5508 to 7120 are totally destroyed
by damp (see vol. cxiii, p. 351), it may be that his
papers were amongst them."

John Blayney was entered as a Barrister of the
Inner Temple as *' John Blayney of Tregynon, 1609,"
and was also Chief Steward for Sir Percy Herbert
over his Lordships of Kerry, Kedewen, Halcester and
Montgomery.

His only child, Joyce, married Sir Arthur Blayney,

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106 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYN<»N.

first cousin of John Blayney and second son of Sir
Edward, first Lord Blayney of Ireland, and carried to
his children the Gregynog estate, iis both Joyce and
Sir Artliur died before John Blayney.

Sir Arthur, Joyces husband, ** served ye Royal
Martyr, K.C., ye first in ye post of Col. of HoiW*,
and was knighted for his conduct at the Battle of
Beaumaris. He had a daughter and four sons. His
eldest son died early, his second without issue, and his
third son, Henry, succeeded him. Sir Arthur was
M.R for the borough of Monaghan in 1634, and he
was Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1644. On Sunday,
September 21st, 1645, King Chailes passed by Gregy-
nog on his way from Newtown to Chester. He
assisted Sir William Owen, the Governor, in the
defence of Harlech Castle for the King, and was one
of the Commissioners appointed by him to sign the
Articles of Surrender on March 13th, 1647, by which
the Castle, the last to surrendei', was given over to the
Parliamentary forces. In 1655 Sir Arthur, at the
head of the Montgomeryshire forces, was to attack
Chirk Castle, whilst Sir T. Harris and Ralph Kynaston
stormed Shrewsbury, but their united movement was
nipped in the bud. He died in 1659.

John Blayney s Will.

" In the name of God, Amen. I, John Blayney, of Gregy-
nog Hall, in the County of Montgomeryshire, Esq., being sick
in body but in good and p'feet memory, praise be unto
Almighty God, doe make and declare my last Will and testa-
ment, in manner and forme following : —

" Ffirst 1 recommend my soule unto Almighty God my
Creator, hoping through the meritts and passion of Jesus Christ
to inherit P^ternall Life ; and as for my body I desire that it
may be decently buried by my Executor hereafter named, and
I do hereby nominat and appoynt niy dutiful and wel beloved
grandson, Edward Blayney, of Gregynog Hall aforesaid Esq.,
to be executor of this my last will and testament, and I appoynt
my beloved brother, Andrew Blayney, of Gregynog Hall afore-
said gentleman, supervisior of this my last will and testament

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 107

and I doe hereby revoke and disanull all former wills by me
made. Witness my hand and seale this eight and twentieth
day of August An'o de Caroli scdi. dei gr*a Anglia et decimo
none. Jo: Blayney. L.S.

•* Published read and sealed in the presence of Ed™^ Lloyd,
Henry Blayney, Jno: Meredith/'

Henry Blayney administered this will in May, 1671,
Edward having died. Andrew being the sole executor,
gave over the power to sue for letters of administration
to Henry Blayney, his nephew.

Extract from John Blayney' s Accounts.

" Particulars of wat sums of money I have pay'd since Michael-
mas, 1705".

£ 8. d.

Sent to ye audit ye 3rd of October . 14 10 00
Ye tax for ye Rectory of Berriew pay'd 7 of

October . . . . 04 06 07
Pay'd to young Tho's Harrisons for work y'

13of Octol)er . . . 00 03 00
Deliv'rd to Jo Howels to go to Newt' fair y'

13 of Oct Vr . . . 00 02 06

Gave Owen for a fairin«r . . 00 00 06
What was disbars't bv Nancy Hodsoii ye 1 S

ofOct^b'r. ' . . . 00 10 00

AUow'd Rio. Tanner for my own tax 04 00 00

Pay'd t^ Mr. Kdward Baldwyne . 06 00 00

Pay'd Burley y Shumaker & all I cw'd him . 01 Oo 00

Pay'd for Cutters and Oyle . . 00 0;) 00
Gave to servants al)out ye 16 of Octob'r,

1705 . . . . 00 05 00

Gave to Mad'm Newton's man . . 00 02 06

Pay'd George Syre for a curt . 02 00 00
Allow'd Richard Syre . . .00 02 00

Pay'd Mr. Hughes which I owed him . O;") 00 00

Pay'd Mr. Edumnd Pryce whicli he lent me . Oo 00 00
Pay'd Tho HaiTison ye oldr for 8 dav's

work . . . *^ . 00 08 00
Pay'd Tho Pryce for work at ye 20 of

Oct'r . . . . 02 00 00

Gave for to buy cakes Octo' y' 20 . 00 01 00

Lent Novemb'r ye o to Richard Gittay . 00 05 00
Gave for sope (1 rope) . . .00 00 06

and for gunpowder . . . 00 01 00

Allow'd John Roberts for carriage of malt . 01 08 00

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& ». d.

00 01 04
00 03 00

15
00
00

00 00
09 00
00 08

00 03 06

108 rAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Nov'b'r ye 4 paj'd for meat for ye house
and spent aud gave to servants at Newtown .
Nov*bV ye 5 day pay'd use money to Nancy

aud Peggy ye sume of \ pound in all
November ye 9 day gave for hopes
Novemb'r ye 9 day paid for sug'r .
Novemb'r ye 20 lay'd out for brus for ye

house ....

''How I have paid my sisters ye use of there fortunes for Lady
Day last past being all yt I owe them. May ye 25, 1706".

£ t. d.
May 25 pay'd to David Davies for sister

Margaret . . 00 12 03

May ye 30 Paid to Mad'me Pryce for use

money . . . 06 00 00

June 3 Gave my mother . . 00 04 00

June 7 Pay'd sister Margaret . 00 02 06

10 Pay'd Doct'r Pughe for my

mother. . . 02 03 00

23 Pay'd my mother . . 00 10 00

Nov: ye 5 Pay to Biddy ye 25 day of No'r

1706 . . . 00 10 00
Pay*d David Davies for Nancv

ye 9 of DecembV 1706 ". 00 07 06
Pay*d SistV Margarett ye 16 of

Aprill 1707 . . 00 05 00

April 17 Paid to Betty ye 17. 1707 . 02 00 00
Paid to Bridgett . . 02 00 00

Pay sister Margarett £4 ye 17

of Aprill 1707 . . 04 10 00

Pay'd Betty to give Mr.

Baxter . . .026

Pay'd to Ad'm Coupland for

sister Peggy ye 10th of May

1707 and there remaint to
him which I have ingag'd to

pay £1 12a. U, . . 3 4 6
Pay'd Betty ye 10 of Sept'b'r

1707 . . . 1 12 6
Pay'd Bridgett ye 15th of

Octob'r 1707 . . 1 10 „

Pay'd to Sister Margrett . 1 15 „

Received ye sixteenth day of June 1 706 of
my brother, John Blayney Esq're ye sum

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNOX. 109

£ s. d.
of twenty-four pound as use for je interest
of my fortune, being in full for one wbole
year . . . . 24

I say receiv'd by
roe

Satos Blaynby.
[? loyous].
Witness.

AV Blayney.
Richard Syors.

The Will shows that Sir Arthur Blayney never pos-
sessed John Blayney 's estate, as Sir Arthur died 1659
and John Blayney in 1667 ; Joyce died 1661, Andrew
died 1678. This seems to show that Andrew, brother
to John Blayney, ought to have succeeded to the
estates, but probably ifave them over to Henry, his
nephew, being a very old man — probably over 90.

Richard Blayney, ob. 1641. — Third son of Lewis.
His story is told amongst tlie Irish Blayneys. He
having gone over to his relations there, was surprised
by the MacMahons, and hanged in the orchard at Castle
Blayney. He wasSherift'of Monaghan in 1605, '9, '10,
ll, and '12, and M.P. for Monaghan 1634 to 1639.

Andrew Blayney, oh. 1678. — Second son of Lewis.
Nothing is told of him except his being mentioned in
John Blayneys will, 1667. He was a captain in the
army, and left £5 to the poor of Tregynon, and was
buried there on 4th January, 1678.

Thomas Blayney is mentioned as bein^ Deputy-
Sheriff to Arthur Weaver, in Shropshire, 1667, but his
name does not appear in the pedigree.

Henry Blayney, oh. 1691. — Third son of Sir Arthur
Blayney, Kt., and Joyce, his wife, married Mary
Seddon. Nothing is said of him except that he owned
Gregynog. He had seven daughters and one son,
John. He owed £300 to Dr. Seddon, his father-in-law;
this money Mr. Seddon left to the six daughters of
Mary Blayney, ne6 Seddon.

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110

PAKOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYKON.

John Blayney, born 1680. — John Blayney married
Ann Weaver, daughter and sole heiress of A. Weaver,
of Morville, and brought to the Bhiyneys the Morville
Hall estate. They had eight children, five of whom
died early, leaving Diana, who died 1780, Frances, who
died 1774, and Arthur Blayney, who died 1795.

Arthcr Blayney, born 1716, died 1795. — He is
the one figure amongst the many representatives of
this ancient family who is still remembered, and of
whom much has been written.

Arthur Blayney and his Time.

Arthur Blayney, of Gregynog and Morville Hall,
Salop, was the son of John Blayney of Gregynog, and
Ann {nee Weaver) his wife. It will be seen by
referring to the pedigree that he was not the eldest
but the third son. He, however, inherited his father s
estate owing to the death of his two elder brothers.
His father had eight children.

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PAKOCHFAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON. Ill

Mr. R. Williams, in his Montgomeryshire Worthies^
says of him : —

"He was born Feb. llth, 1716, and succeeded to the family
estates in consequence of the death in infancy or youth of his
elder brothers. He served the office of Sheriff in 1764, and
was much respected as a fine specimen of a country gentleman
of the old school. His engraved portrait^ may still be met
with in many old Montgomeryshire houses. Mr. Blayney died
unmarried Oct. 1st, and was buried at Tregynon, Oct. 6th,
1795, in the 80th year of his age, having devised his estates to
his ** Welsh" niece, Susannah, wife of Henry Tracy (afterwards
Viscount Tracy) of Toddington, whose daughter and sole
heiress married Charles Hanbury, who afterwards assumed the
name of Tracy, and was in 1838 created Baron Sudeley of
Toddington, in the county of Gloucester."

The writer of the above calls Susan Tracy — nee
Weaver — " Welsh" niece to A. Blayney ; but Mr. E. R.
Morris has, I think, conclusively proved that she was
iirst cousin to A. Blayney, which accounts for his
leaving so large an estate to her instead of to the repre-
sentative of the Blayney family then living in Ireland,
who was directly descended in the male line from
David Lloyd Blayne\' (1577). The reason is given for
the estrangement of the Irish and Welsh Blayneys
by the fact that the then Lord Blayney, of Castle
Blayney, in Ireland, thought fit to visit his brother,
Mr. Arthur Blayney of Gregynog, and came in great
state and pomp, and thus upset the modest and
homely ideas of Mr. A. Blayney ; and we may also
suppose that this visit was perhaps intended with a
view to the future of his large estates.

The appendix to Yorke's Royal Tribes contains the
following interesting '' Character of Mr. Blayney".

"Arthur Blayney of Gregynog was descended from Brochwel
Ysgythrog, a Prince of Powys in the seventh century, but ho
valued himself on his pedigree no otherwise than by taking
care that his conduct should not disgrace it.

* The original picture, which hunj^ in the hall at Gregynog, is dow
(1896) in the possession of Lady Sudeley, at Ham, and is here repro-
duced.

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112 PAROCHIAL HISTOUY 0\P TKKGYNON.

"In the early part of his life he had applied himself to the
study of the Law, not with any professional view, but merely
to guard himself and those who consulted him from chicane
and injustice, to which many who made the profession their
livelihood were, in his opinion, so strongly tempted and
inclined, that he seldom mentioned a lawyer without expressive
marks of dislike, but this could be humour only.

'^He read much, and had a good collection of books, but was
more disposed to conceal than obtrude his knowledge. He
was a firm adherent to the Constitution under which he lived,
and never spared his zeal and support when the public stood
in need of it. At the same time his loyalty did not preclude
him from using that invaluable privilege of a British subject,
in freely censuring, upon proper occasions, both the measures
and instruments of Government. Incorruptible himself, he
detested venality in others. He was of no party but of that of
honest men.

" Whether he supposed that the Peerage was degenerated,
and that some degree of contagion dwelt near a Court, or
whether h© had gathered the prejudice from history, in which
he was conversant ; but certain it is, he was by no means
partial to Lords or Placemen. No man thought more highly
of Parliaments, but pertinaciously declined the honour of
representing his native county, though often invited to it by
the unbiassed suffrages of his countrymen. The active part
he took in behalf of other candidates was so pure in its
motives, that bis support gave a decided superiority over the
highest rank and influence.

"Most of the neighbouring freeholders only awaited to know
his opinion to make up their own. Few gentlemen were better
qualified for the magistracy, or more sensible of its importance ;
but from an unaccountable difiidence he could never be pre-
vailed upon to act in the commission, though always ready to
applaud and second the just efforts of those who did.

"Of the established religion he was a steady member;
defended its rights and respected its ministers where they
respected themselves.

" There is scarce a church, in which he had any concern, but
what in its repairs and ornaments bears witness to his munifi-
cence. His tenants, from their relation, he considered as friends,
and not only allowed them ample profit from his estates, but
encouraged and assisted them in every rational attempt to
improvement. In his farmhouses and their oflices, beyond what
was necessary, he was always studying convenience and com-
fort, according to the situation and even taste of the occupier.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORT OF TREGYNON. 113

'' He did so much in this way, and did it so well, that it is
easy to trace his premises, which were very extensive, by the
condition in which he left them; and although he possessed an
uncommon quantity of the finest wood, he generally bought
his timber.

'' To his small tenants he was a bountiful master, and he
complained of the bad state of a cottage he showed me, which
in any other place might have been thought a good one. He
applied a little land to each to keep their cow in the summer,
and in the winter he gave them hay to support it.

*' Nor was it his own property that he was desirous of
improving only; the county at large he looked upon as having
a peculiar claim upon him, and no undertaking was proposed
but met with his countenance and liberality.

'* The Roads in particular for many miles round owe their
creation almost entirely to him, and when his land was wanted
to widen them he would give it on one condition only. * That
they took enough.* You had only to convince him of the
utility of a design to be sure of his purse and protection. He
always took time to consider and enquire, but from the
moment he was decided he wanted no subsequent instigation.

** His charity was liberal and difi*usive ; but instead of con-
fining it to the idle vagrant and clamourous poor, his chief aim
was to put deserving objects in the way to afibrd them means
of providing for themselves.

'* There are many respectable tradesmen and gentlemen too,
whose embarassments have been removed by his friendly
assistance. He was doubtless an economist on system, which
enabled him to do what he did. When the object of expense
was a proper one he never regarded the sum ; of course,
nothing sordid or niggardly could be imputed to him, even
when economy was most conspicuous. He would never be
persuaded to keep a carriage, and very seldom hired one,
performing till his infirmities disabled him his longest journies
on horseback.

" His constant residence was at Gregynog, except occasional
excursions to his other house at Morville, near Bridgenorth.
One of the most prominent features in his character was his
hospitality, of which there are but few such instances now
remaining.

" His table was every day plentifully covered with the best
things the country and season afibrded, for unless it was to do
honour to particular guests he never indulged in far-sought
delicacies, preferring the ducks and chickens of his poor
neighbours, which he bought in all numbers, whether

VOL. XXX. I

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114 PAhOCHTAL HISTOKY OF TllEGYNON.

he wanted them or not ; and I remember in the summer of
1798 a small pond near the house swarming with the former
kind. He was very choice in his liquors, which were the best
care and money could procure. His place was not happy in
situation, was neither elegant nor ornamented, but comfortable
in the most extended sense of the word ; inasmuch as it
would be diflScult to find another house where the visitor was
more perfectly at ease ; from the titled tourist to the poor
benighted wayworn exciseman, who knew not where else to
turn in either for refreshment or lodging : for Mr. Blayney's
hospitality reached every traveller, known or unknown, who
could decently make any pretention to it.

** In his conversation he was affable, polite, instructive and
cheerful ; seldom brilliant but never dull, and appeared always
to enjoy the innocent sallies of humour and wit from others ;
though they seldom originated from himself

" To his domestics he was a kind and indulgent master ;
their service was easy, but expected to be prompt and exact,
not only to himself but to the humblest of his company. They
always looked sleek and happy, and might grow rich if they
would. In truth, no animal in his possession, from the stable
to the poultry-yard, had cause to complain, and I knew him
once vexed with a servant, as he said, for sending a thin dog
from Gregynog.

" His hounds, too fat for speed, were fed and followed by a
running huntsman. His partridges were set, and his woodcock
shot on the ground with a pointer and stalking horse. Order
and regularity pervaded his whole household.

" He was never married, but was remarkably pleased with
and pleasing to the ladies who visited him, and they were not
a few. He carried his notions of independence to a pitch that
bordered upon excess : always ready to confer reasonable favours,
he reluctantly accepted them. Several worthy Bishops of the
Diocese have lamented that he would never put it in their
power, to use their patronage, in favour of his recommenda-
tion.

*^ In his temper he was constitutionally warm. What true
Welshman is otherwise? His resentments, generally well
founded, were consequently strong and sometimes pernxanent
He could forgive an injury, but if his confidence was forfeited,
it was almost impossible to retrieve it.

" His dress was plain and studiously neat and becoming, and
he had made a London suit every year, and his constant
direction to his tailor (whom he had not seen for forty years)
was, that he made the present coat as the last. His shoe-

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNOX. 115

buckles were very small, and he had a dressed pair ; they were
of the old form and fashion ; and he wore his breeches garters
very high.

" Mr. Blayney died at Gregynog the first day of October,
1795, in the 61st year of his age (sic : but should be 80th), and
was buried by his particular direction, very privately, in the
Churchyard at Tregynon. He was universally and justly
lamented, an advantage which amiable men possess over great
ones."

As intimated above, Mr. Blayney left in his own
handwriting the following singular ** Directions for my
Funei-al".

" It is usual for people in this country (out of pretended
respect, but rather from an Impertinent Curiosity) to desire to
see persons after they are dead.

" It is my earnest request that no person on any pretence
whatever may be permitted to see my Corpse, but those who
unavoidably must. I desire to be buried in the North side of
the Churchyard of Tregunon, somewhere about the Centre;
my Coffin to be made in the most plain and simple manner,
without the usual Fantastical Decorations, and the more
perishable the Material the better. I desire no undertaker
or professed performer of Funerals may be employed ; But
that I may be conveyed to the Churchyard in some Country
Herse, which may be hired for the occasion ; And my Corpse
to be carried from the Herse to the Grave immediately, without
going into the Church, by six of the Chief Tregunon Tenants,
to whom I give two guineas each for their Trouble. It is my
Earqest request and desire to have no upper Bearers or any
persons whatever invited to my Funeral, which I desire may
be at so early an hour as will best prevent a Concourse of
People from collecting together.

" The better sort I presume will not intrude as there is no
Invitation. I have been present at the Funerals of three of my
Unkles at Morvill. I was pleased with the privacy and
decency with which all things were conducted, no stran^^ers
attended. All was done by the servants of the Family. It is
my Earnest desire to follow these examples, however unpopular,
and that no Coach, no Escutcheon, and no pomp of any kind
may appear. I trust that my Executor will be well Justified
against the clamour and obloquy of Mercenary people, when
he acts in performance of the last request of a dying Friend

I 2

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116 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

who solemnly adjures him in the name of God, punctually to
observe these directions.

"Ar: Blayney.

"I likewise give to all my servants five guineas each in
lieu of all Mourning, which it is my desire no person may use
on my account."

Lord Tracy put up a monument to the memory of
Mr. Blaynev in Tregynon Church. This monument is
by T. Bacon, R.A.

*' Sacred to the memory of Arthur Blayney, Esq., who during
a long Life passed at Gregynog devoted his Time and Fortune
and his Talents to the Good of Mankind, and this neighbour-
hood in particular; by spiritedly and generously promoting
Works of great public Utility by the constant Exercise of
liberal Hospitality, by a fatherly Attention to his Tenantry and
Dependeuta, by patiently and skilfully reconciling Differences,
by largely encouraging Industry and Merit, and by relieving
most bountifully the Poor and the Distressed.

" He died Oct. 1, 1795, aged 80. By his Express Desire his
remains were interred in the North Part of this Church Yard.

*'This Monument, an humble Tribute to his exemplary
Virtues, is most gratefully placed in this Church (Itself an
Object of his pious Munificence) by Henry Lord Viscount
Tracy, his Friend and Executor."

The annual value of his estates was as under : —

£ 8. d.

Montgomeryshire Lands - - 4,782 19 6

Morville Hall Estate (Shropshire) - 1,592 3

Tithes - - - - 675 12

6,990 14 6

In addition to this, the writer believes that some
£200 to £300 a year arose from lands in Hereford-
shire.

The Montgomeryshire estates consisted ot the fol-
lowing farms or holdings : —

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TKKGYNON.

117

RENTAL OF THE GREGYNOG ESTATES IN THE YEARS
1795 AND 1809.

Holdings.

Aberkafesp Parish,

Llanllwchaiam Parish,

Glaurhjd, Buxtons and Bryn-y-
groes.

PeDllanlikj.

Bwichcaebaidd.

Hill Farm.

TyDy Wttra.

Wemy Toe.

Piece part of Vachwen farm.

Little Bryn-y-groes.

Fachweu, exclusive of two de-
tached pieces.

Galtyffyuon.

Mellinygloch.

Cwm.

Llanvmog Parish.

Rhydlydan farm.
Mill house and lauds.
Hen fry u farm.
Bembow's meadow.
Public-house, building and land
Late Brown's building and gar-
den.
Late Richards* house.
Llwjmybrain.

Newtown Parish.

House, building, etc.

House, etc.

Bear Inn and lands.

House and standings.

Glascoed.

Penarth.

Cefn-y-fastre.

Allotted land on Cefn-y-fastre.

Allotted cottage and garden on

Newtown Green.
Allotted lauds.

Tyny Cwm and allotted lands.
Pwll-Coch.

Llandys»il Parish.
Pentre.
Balbro.

Kerry Parish.

Manllwyd and allotted lands.

Gwernewidd.

Little mill.

Cefn-y coed, Thomas's tenements

and allotted lands.
Allotted lands on .Cefn-y-fastre.
Do. do.

Berriew Parish.

Penycoed and allotted lands.

Allotted land.

Rectory, Place Llwyn, etc.

Penyfridd and allotted lands.

Wern.

Caethugley.

Wharf and lime-kilns.

Timber wharf.

Bettws Parish.

Penyllan.

Cwmdockin and allotted lands.

Cefnupol and allotted lands.

Brynrorin and allotted lauds.

Garth.

Glanbechan and allotted lands.

Tynyllidiart.

Tynyrwttra.

Highgate,

AVain.

Upper Garth.

Middle Garth.

Garth cottage.

Llyast Goch.

Coedtrefe.

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118

PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON.

Bryn Coch.

Little Garth.

Llettytwlch.

Bellanewidd and allotted lands.

Penygaer and allotted lands.

Bryn-y-Ciill and allc^tted lands.

Llwyn-Coch and allotted lands.

Llyast.

Pentre.

Little Penybryn.

Pencamions and allotted lands.

Gwernybaidd.

Glomen and allotted lands.

Pontyperchill.

Coppice tenement.^

Ystimcolwyn.

House and garden (E. Lloyd).

Tregynon Parish.

House, Fulling mill and land.^
Pwllau farm, with Bam hall and

Galynog.
Gwaiutrebedde.
Hafod-Talog.
Chapel meadow.
Fraithwen.
Bron Rees.
Fir house.
Old mill and lands.
Cwm Barn house.
Cefngwifed.
Little Brithdir.
Upper Wern.
Tydu.

Wern meadow.
Rhos Pant.
Gogwia.
Lletty Evan Llydan and Long

Birches.
Cwm Kignant.
Fachwen.
Tynyshettin.
Llwynmelin.
Cae-Garrw.
Village meadow.

Dolymelin.

Penybryn.

Cottage, house, etc.

Moat meadow.

Caetan Llan.

Tyny Coed.

Neyodd Rees Llwyd (exclusive of

Caegarw in 1809).
Tylumey and Steel's Croft.
Birch house.
Cochshidan.
Tynygraig.
Dairy.

Aberclawdd.

Smith's house, shop and land.
House, etc.
Ty-Gwealt
Brithdir.
Glanrafon.
Tyn-y-banal.

Porthman's and Gron meadow.
Cae-Gwastad.
Frwdwen.
Wainsarnew.
Argoed.
Tynybryn.
Baxter's land.
Lower Wern.
Cue-Grassy house, etc.
Tithe bam, house, etc.
Cwmearl.

Lower Llwynmelyn.
Cracklands.
Middle Wern.
Wemdu, Lower Gregynog, and

Reservoir piece.
Greatwood.
Horse meadow.
Church house farm.
Penberton's Wood.
Wernypallis.
Cae-Go meadow.
Upper Gregynog, Garden meadow

and Bankypiece.
Tyuewidd.

^ Now called *' Lane Tenement".
2 Now called *' Walk-Mill",

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GRBOYNOO HALL, 1795.

COATS OF ARM8 CARVED ON OAK PANELS AT GREOYNOO HALL, 163^5.

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V A

V i^^

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TKEGYNOK. 119

Pentitrmotd Parish, Hole farm (with lands added from

Tv- MaTiT. Penyllan).

Penstrowed Hall. Q"o^ tenement.

Cefu Hir. House in lease.

Llandinam Parish. Trelystan Pariah,

Carnedd. Church farm.

Maesmawr. ^^ name (Richard Russel).

Forden Parish, Do (Betton^s).

Penyllan (exclusive of land added l^iugle tenement
to the Hole farm, 1809).

Total (in 1795), £4,782 19 6; (In 1809), ^7,156 7 6

The old house in which Mr. Blayney lived so long
stood where the present house now stands, most of the
new house being built upon its foundations. It was
an old house, smaller than the existing house, con-
taining a ground-floor and two bedroom floors, built
of red brick covered with blue slates, and a slate roof ;
it could not have been in any way a picturesque
building. It was very much out of repair and overrun
with rats, and the rooms much smaller than those of
the present house.

The great feature of the house was the " Carved
Parlor", situated in the south-east wing, in which was
the magnificent old carved oak panelling, now in the
dining-room of the new house.

This carving was executed by Dutch carvers, brought
over to Wales for the purpose about the year 1636,
shown by two carved panels, one bearing a half-moon
and a sun, with June 22 ; the other a sun with a face,
and AND ^ DNI 1636, with an anchor beneath it.

The arms, shown on accompanying sketches, are all
carved on oak shields, there being eight shields, showing
the arms of the great Welsh houses connected with
the family, as well as the Blayneys' coat of arms,
elaborately carved and placed over the fireplace.

The following is supposed to be the proper description
of these arms : —

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120 PAROCHIAL HISTOUY OF TiiEGYNON.

1. 1 and 4. [Sable] Three horses* heads erased {arg,) for Blayney

(Brochwell Ysgythrog.^ 2. [-477.] Three cocks [gu.], for
Einion Sais. 3. [Erm,] A lioa rampant larg.'] for Cynric ap
Khiwallon. Motto : ** Virtutis comes iavidia" (Jealousy is the
companion of Virtue).

2. [Sa.] A chevron engrailed, ermine between 3 trefoils slipped

[arg.] for Loftus or Ely.

3. [Sa,] A chrevron between 3 spear-heads [arg.], for Caradoc Freich-

fras, Earl of Hereford, one of King Arthur's Knights of the
Round Table.

4. [Ttfr^] A wolf passant [ ], the mouth pierced with an anx>w

[«r^.], for Blfcddyn ap Maenarch ; or perhaps, as said in an old
letter in the possession of Lord Sudeley : ** A Saxon coat of
Arms." No name given.

5. [Sa.] A chevron between 3 fleurs-de-lys [ar^f.], for Collwyu ap

Tango, Lord of Evionedd, founder of one of the Royal tribes,
1050.

6. [Or.] A lion rampant [gu.], crowned [or.], for Cynfyn, founder of

one of the Royal Tribes; or perhaps for Howell ap Jerva, Lord
of Arwstli.

7. [Vert.] 3 eagles displayed in fess [or], for Owen Gwynedd, Prince

of North Wales.

8. [ ] Per pale [az. and gu.] 3 lions rampant [ar^.], for Herbert.

9. [Gu 1] On a garb [arg. ?] a bird [sa. ?], for Herle (?) ; or perhaps

for Watcyn ap Ion Hir.
10. [Ar.] A dragon's head [vert], holding a bloody hand in the
mouth, for Rhys Goch of Ystrady w, or Philip Hir.

Some further interesting particulars of the house
and establishment may be read in the article from
which the above is copied, vol. xxii, p. 107.

Extracts from the Parish Registers of Tregynon — referring to

the Blayneys.
Note. — The names marked thus * appear in the Pedigree of the
Blayneys of Gregyuog.

(Buried) * Andreas Blaney sepultus fuit . . 4 June 1678

(Buried) ♦^o/ian/wi^^ filius Henrici Blayney Armig. 28 Feb. 1680
sepult .

1 The Rev. VVm. Lloyd, in his " Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire'*,
MonUjcmiet^shire Collections, vol. xxvii, 1 : " Three nags' heads erased
[arg^^, or three torn heads of the Saxon white horse, symbolizintj
strife with, and victory over, the Saxons".

2 John, the son of Henry Blayney, does not appear in any of the
pedigrees of the Blayneys ; he probably died young, as he was buried
at Tregynon on 28 Feb. 1680, and his father did not die till 1691,
and had another son John, who died in 1720.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

121

(Buried) Arthurus Blayney sepnltiis fuit 18 Sep. 1680

(Buried) Jacobus fil. Edwardi Blayney de Coedy- 25 Nov. 1681

perth, sepult
(Buried) Edwardus til. Edwardi Blayney de Coedy- 16 Dec. 1681

perth, sepult
(Buried) •i3>wr/<rw* Blayney, Armiger — sepultuserat Aug. 1691

Vicesimo die
(Married) Thus. Blayney de [Llangurig], et Maria Oct. 1690

de Bettus matrimonio conjuncti fnere

ultimi die
(Buried) Edwardus Blayney sepultus erat . Nov. 1692

(Bapt.) Thomas fil : Hoeli Blayney bapt. . 169J

(Bapt.) Hoelus fil : Hoeli Blayney, textoris, et 2 Oct. 1699

Margaretta uxoris ejus bapt.
(Bapt) MariafiliaillegitimaRich. Blayney de Bettus 13 Sep. 1702

e corpore Eliz. Davies de Tregynon Bap.
(Married) *0M'^»J5^y»ey, generosuset Maria Blayney 16 Dec. 1700

de Tregynon matr. conj. fuere
(Buried) Elizabeth Blayney de Coedyperthi, vidua, 21 July 1699

sepulta
(Buried) Margaretta Blayney, vidua, sepult . 14 May 1704

(Buried) Margaretta uxor Howelli Blayney de 4 Jan. 1 70 J

Berriew textoris, sepulta
(Bapt.) Thomas filius Thos. Blayney, Agricohe et 24 Nov. 1705

Margaretta uxoris ejus Bap
(Buried) Maria filia Howelli Blayney textoris de 21 Mar. 170*

de Berriew sepulta
(Buried) Thomas filius do. do. . 2iMar. 170^

Hovvellus til : Howelli Blayney textoris de 29 Mar. 1709

Beiriew sepultus
(Bapt.) *El{z, fil: Oudeni [Owen] Blayney, Armigeri 26 Jan. 1706

de Monachon in regno Hiberniae, et

Mariae sororis maximae natu lohannis

Blayney, Armigeri de Gregynog Hall
(Buried) *Domina Maria Blayney, vidua et Rclicta 15 Oct. 1707

Henrici Blayney Armigeri de Gregynog

Hall
(Bapt.) Bemar<fu8 fil: Thos. Blayney, plebs et 18 Oct. 1707

Margaretta uxor ejus
(Buried) *Eliz. Ma, Blayney Oven generosi et Mariae 11 Nov. 1707

uxor ejus de Hiberniae
(Bapt.) ^Anna Maria filia Johilns Blayney — Armi- 24 Oct. 1708

geri et Anna uxoris ejus
(Buried) * Anna Mama fi\: Johiis Blayuej, Armiger 2 May 1709

de Gregynog Hall
(Bapt.) *£dwurdu8 fil : Johanis Blayney, Armiger 4 Jan. 17 J J

et Annae uxoris ejus

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122 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF I'REGYNON.

(Bapt.) Arindia ye daughter of Thomas Blayney

and Margaret his wife
(Bapt.) * Arabella ye daughter of John Blayney Esq

and Anna his wife
(Bapt.) * Joyous daught. to John Blayney Esqr by

Anna his wife
(Buried) Arindia daughter to Thomas Blayney was

buried
(Buried) Margaret wife of Thomas Blayney was

buried
(Buried) Bernard son to Thomas Blayney buried .
(Buried) Thomas son to Thomas Blayney buried
(Bapt.) *John sone to John Blayney Esqr by Anne

his wife was bapt.
(Buried) *John son to John Blayney Esqr by Ann

his wife buried
(Buried) ^Edward son to John Blayney by Ann his

wife buried
(Bapt.) * Diana daught. of John Blayney Esqr. by

Ann his wife
(Bapt.) Dority the daughter of Edward Blayney .
(Bapt.) * Arthur the son of John Blayney Esqr. by

Ann his wife
(Bapt.) *John tlie sone of John Blayney Esqr. by

Ann his wife was bapt.
(Bapt.) Edward the son of Edw. Blayney by Sara

his wife, Feb. the 202 day, 1718
(Bapt.) ^Frances, the daughter of John Blayney

Esq. by Ann his wife
(Bapt.) Thomas son of Richard Blayney by Ann

his wife
(Buried) *Jokn BlatpiPi/ Esqr. was buried .

and hee was aged thirty seaven[? yearen]
(Bapt.) Margery ye daughter of Thomas Blayney

by Anne his wife bapt.
(Bapt.) Elizabeth daughter of Thos. Blayney by

Anne his wife bapt.
(Buried) Thomas Blayney was buried
(Bapt.) Ann the daughter of Thos. Blayney by

Anne his wife was bapt.
(Buried) Dority Blayney was buried
(Bapt.) Mary the daughter of Thomas Blayney by

Anne his wife was bapt.
(Bapt.) Thomas 8on of Thomas Blayney by Anne

his wife bap.
(Buried) Anne the wife of Thomas Blayney was

buried
(Buried) [Dority] Blayney was buried .

16Mar.l7^i
20 Mar. 1712

27 Aug. 1713
11 Nov. 1713

26 Mar. 1712

28 July 1713
20Mar. 17fJ

27 Aug. 1714

29 Nov. 1714
14 Sep. 1715
14 Jan. 1715

26 Dec. 1716
11 Feb. 1716

4 July 1718

2 July 1719
20 Jan. 1719

7 Dec. 1720
11 Ap. 1722

8 Dec. 1723

27 June 1725
2 Dec. 1725

10 Sep. 1726

22 Jan. 1726

[?1727]
24 Aug. 1729

23 Jan. 173^
22 Oct. 1736

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 123

(Bapt.) Eichard son of Edwd. Blayiiey and Mary 23 Oct. 1746

his wife bapt.
(Bapt.) Mary dauorhter of Ed. Blayney and Mary 16 Feb. 174|

his wife bap.
(Buried) * Madame Anne Blcvijney of Gregynog Hall 21 May 1751

was buried
(Buried) *Mr8. Joyoiis^ Blayney buried . . 29 Dec. 1759

(Buried) Richard Blayney buried . . 2 Dec. 1763

(Buried) *Mrs. Frances^ Blayney buried . . 7 May 1774

(Bapt.) Eliz. Maria daughter of Thos. Blayney 15 Feb. 1756

and Mary his wife bapt.
(Bapt.) Prudence daughter of Thos. Blayney and 7 Jan. 1 758

Mary his wife bapt.
(Bapt.) Elisha son of Thomas Blayney and Mary 30 Ap. 1760

his wife bap.
(Bapt.) Anne daughter Thomas Blayney and Anne Nov. 1766

his wife
(Buried) * Arthur Blayney huned . . 6 Oct. 1795

(Buried) Edward Blayney buried . . 5 Dec. 1798

(Married) John Blayney of Bettws married at 2 Mar. 1813

Tregynon to Eliz. Soley of Tregynou
(Married) Thos. Blayney to Eliz. Hone both of 9 Oct. 1833

Tregynon
(Married) Wm. Gwilt of Lydbury to Mary Blayney 7 Feb. 1873

of Tregynon
(Buried) Diana Blayney the Rock buried May 19, 1823, aged 4

months."
(Bapt.) Mary, d. of John and Eliz. Blayney, Rock 7 Sep. 1817

bapt
(Bapt.) Elizabeth, d. of John and Eliz. Blayney, 14 Ap. 1819

Rock bapt.
(Bapt.) Owen, s. of John and Eliz. Blayney, 13 June 1825

Rock bapt
(Bapt) Diana, d. of John and Eliz. Blayney, Rock 31 July 1829

bapt.

Note ^ and ^ Both Joyous and Frances Blayney are set down as
** Mrs.", but neither were married ; probably it was a title of respect,
they being called Mistress Joyous Blayney and Mistress Frances
Blayney. A curious entry appears in tlie registers about this
period : —

" Peter Garden^ a foundling left at the garden door of Gregynog
Hall, was bapt June 26, 1776."

He was probably named Garden from the fact of his having been
left at the garden door. He died in 1830 at Bwlchyffridd, aged 58,
80. that he must have been 4 years old when he was baptised.

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124 PAUOCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGVNON.

(Bapt.) John, a. of John and Eliz. Blayney, Rock 13 Ap. 1834

and Moelywiged bapt.

Went to Liverpool in 1849.
(Bapt.) Margt., d. of Thomas and Eliz. Blayney 12 Aug. 1838

Cwm Harry bapt.
(Bapt.) Herbert, s. of Thos. and Eliz. Blayney 9 July 1843

Moelywiged bapt.
(Bapt.) Eliztb, d. of Thos. and Eliz. Blayney 2 Nov. 1845

Moelywiged bapt.

1 may, perhaps, add here the names of Blayneys who
matriculated at Oxford at a very early date : —

1585. 2nd July, David Blayney, Generosi filius, aged 17, Mag-
dalen College.

158J-. Maurice Blayney, Generosi fil., aged 18, Magdalen College.

1600. 12 Dec, David Blayney, Generosi. fil., aged :J0, St. Ed-
mund's Hall.

16 J J. 4 Feb., Richard Blayney, Pleb. fil., aged 23, All Souls'
College.

The first in this list is doubtless the Blayney who
was Curate of Tregynon in 1595. None of the above
names occur in the pedigree of the Gregynog Blayneys,
but may, probably, be Blayneys of Ystumgwern. Who
the last was it is hard to say, as he is styled Filius
Plebis, i.e., below the rank of a Gentleman.

WEAVER PEDIGREE.
Richard Smith of Morvlll.=j=Mary Gerry of Cliff.

Roger Smith {circa 1660) of Morvill.=j= Frances Cressett of Cressett.

George Smith (living at Morvill in 1583).=rMargaret Pigott of Chollisin.

John Smith of Morvill.=p( 1 ) Ann Vernon, da. of Sir T. Vernon of Haslington,

Gloucestershire.
= (2) Mary Ropp (1603). widow of L. Ropp of

Staploy.
= (3) Marv Masterton ol Nantwich (1604).

George Smith= Jane, da. of Sir Jane, 7=Arthur Weaver of Hettws,

(living in H. Brown. ob.

1630). 1687.

Gent.; ob. 1688.
a

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TKEOyNON.

125

l«

I 11 1

Arthur =pMary ..., Thomas, Mary (called = W. A Iden- Jane.'

Weaver.
ob. 1716.

ob. 1702. ob. 1713. Mary Acton
by A. Weaver
No. 1).

ham

Browne.

Amphilia.

Daughter. =pMo8eley .

Jane.

A Son.

I
Sarah.

John, Arthur, Edward, Thomas, Eliza- Ann, =r John Mary. Frances, i

Blay.
ney.

ob. 1764.

ob. ob. 1764. ob. 1.762. ob. 1761. beth. ob.
1749. 1768.

I
Arthur,
ob. 1759.

I \ \\ 1 I I I

Anna, Edw., Arabella, Joyce, John, Diana, Arthur,* Frances,

ob. oh. ob. ob. ob. ob, ob. ob.

17"9. 1714. 1729. 1759. 1714. 1780. 1795. 1774.

Anthony. =pSu8anna,
ob. 1754.

Susan Weaver. =p Henry Tracy.

Hon. Henrietta Susanna Tracy,=rCha8. Hanbury, Ist Lord Sudeley.
b. 1776. I

Thomas Charles, 2nd Lord Sudeley.=|=Emma Alicia Pennant.

Chas. Georee Hanbury Tracy, Chas. D. R. Hanbury = Ada ToUemache.
3rd Lord Sudeley. Tracy, 4 th Lord

Sudeley.

The Weavers are brought into this account of
Tregynon through their connection with both the
Blayneys and the Tracys. Bearing on the estates
they owned, the following old deeds, which came
under the notice of the writer some years ago, may be
of interest.

^ It must not be forgotten that Arthur Blayn':?y was not the lost

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126 PAKOCHIAL HISTORY OK TRKGYNoN.

Dated U92. Grant from Will Weulock to Wm. Smith, perpetual

vicar of Pedwardine. This relates to Tithes at

Morville.
„ 1529. Morville (called Morfield) and a Cell, granted to

Richard Marshall ; on its dissolution.
„ 1540 Patent for Morville.
„ 1550. Grant of GoodalFs messuage and lands at Bridgnorth

to G, Smith,
„ 1550. Grant of land to Hoger SmitJi.
„ 1567. Inquisition papers. Return of a J urv on an Inquisition,

whether John Dudley — Visc't Lyle — conveyed the

Cell and Grainge of Morville to Roger Smith,

Verdict in favour of G. Smith.
„ 1579. George Smith recovers a small estate in Bridgnorth.
„ 1583. Grant of Elizabeth to William Herle, Esq., of the Cell

and Grainge of Morville, etc., etc.
„ 1642. Old Rental of Morville Estate, showing Rents £96, and

Tithes £84 per annum.

The Smiths of Morvill had evidently been long
settled at Morvill, which, through the Weavers, who
married into the Blayney family, came eventually to
Arthur Blayney, Esq., of Gregynog.

Of the Weavers, through whom the Bridgnorth and
Morvill lands came into the Blayney family, little is
known prior to 1628, when Arthur Weavers name
appears in the following will of Jenkin Vaughan, of
Trawscoed, Feb. 1628 :—

" Cozen Mr. John Blayney or my cozen Mr. D'a Blayney
(of Maesmawr). I have paide Mr. Squier xxK for Randle
Owen and there is a writt to be sent forth in Mr. Squier's
name to extend his landes to my use. Arthur Weaver is
Agent therein and knoweth the whole business ''

Arthur Weaver, as will be seen by referring to the
Pedigree, was the son of .... Weaver by Mary his
wife, and married Jane Smith, heiress of John Smith,
owner of Morville, and thus became possessed of the

of the Blayney 8, there being a representative of the family down to
1874 in the person of Lord Blayney of Ireland ; and that the Greg-
ynog estates were left by will to Lord Tmcy, his wife being Arthur
Blayney'a first cousin.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

127

Morvill and Bridgnorth estates. In 1683 he is
mentioned as administering the goods of Charles
Arthur, of Bettws, and in 1645 that he was possessed
of property in Montgomeryshire. From this we may
perhaps infer that he was not, as commonly supposed,
of Shropshire extraction, but came of an old Mont-
gomeryshire stock, whose seat was almost without
doubt at Highgate.

We glean a good deal of information about Arthur
Weaver from the ** delinquency papers", in which he
is shown to have eventually deserted the Royalists
and made off to South Wales to join the Parliamentary
forces in 1645, thus: ** Arthur Weaver, of Bettws, in
CO. Montgomery, Gent. His delinquency, that he
deserted nis dwellinge and lives in the ennimies
quarters. Hee rendord in Oct. 1645. His Estate in
fee in possession p'ann £102 18^. id. Personall
Estate £355, .... ffor v^hich his ffine at a tenth
is £240.''

He petitioned to be forgiven, saying that he was
compelled to help the King, living, as he said, in one
of His Majesty's garrison towns (probably Bridgnorth),
and could not help himself.

His papers show him to have been possessed of the
following property in Shropshire and Montgomery-
shire : —

Montgomery sh ire.

In township

tenements
3 cottages
6 tenements

3 cottages

4 tenements
2 cottages

4 tenements

of Llivior .
Dolforwyn

Abermule
/ in Ucheldre

> in Llanfechan

> in Garthgellin

in Glenbechaii and
Llanwonwicke

£ s. (L

9 3 4

Am*t not

given

Do.

40 6 4

16
16

JG102 18^. 4c/.
per annum.

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128 PAKOCHIAL HlSrOKY OP TRKGYNOX.

In Shropshire,
In right of his wife —
1 tenement |

1 cottage !' Ashton and Houghton X3

1 parcell of wood )

Tithes of Quatford . . . X12

35 houses, barus, gardens, lands . . <£15

His outgoing he gave at £27 15«. 0</.
Debts due to him, chiefly for arrears of rent, £350.
And he owed £364.

There is no mention of Morvill in these papers, so
that probably he did not inherit till later, between
1646 — 1652, when he appears as owner. It may,
perhaps, have been earlier even than this date. He
sets forth that thirty-five houses, etc., in Bridgenorth,
worth £3,000, were burnt down by the enemy. He
seems to have acquired much more property after
1646, as his will shows, in which we find the origin of
many of our local Charities, viz. :

** Tregynon 20s, to the poor.

" Bettws 26j?. for bread for the poor, to be given sixpence
per week in bread by the Churchwardens and Overseers to six
poor people of the Parish — chosen by a majority at the monthly
meeting of Parishioners. This 26«. is charged on Llwyncoch
Farm in the Parish of Bettws."

There were further directions to buy copies of The
Whole Duty of Man, and other works by the same
author, to be kept amongst the Parish books for any
persons to read after service, in these two Parishes and
eight others. A chained copy of this book is still in
existence at Llanfyllin Church, with a Bond to be
signed by every borrower of it. His will was a
lengthy document, with all sorts of bequests to his
sons and daughters ; but he only left 5^. to his
daughter Mary Acton, who had married in 1665
William Aldenham. Why she is called Acton and
not Aldenham is odd, but probably she is the
Ancestress of Lord Acton of Aldenham. He seems
to have had property at Holdgate, Clic Stanton,
Birchamton, Tregynon, Forden, Penyllan, Trelustan,

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I>AR0CHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 129

Longvil, Luschcote, and Mortgages in Kerry. He
also left 40^. a year to his kinsman Richard Williams,
of Llanllwchaiarn, and Ms. a year to his kinswoman
Mary Williams, of Bettws, payable at Highgate. He
left his Montgomeryshire estates to his son Arthur, and
Morvill to his younger son, showing that he wished
his name to be associated with his paternal home.
Eventually, Arthur got the Morvill estate as well.

Arthur Weaver No. 2 was the eldest son of Arthur
Weaver (No. 1), and married a lady called Mary ....
He built the Almshouses at Bettws, and left them to
his son Anthony ; he left also a yearly rent-charge of
£10 arising out of the Glebe and Tithe of Tregynon,
" to be employed in setting out poor children or in
setting to work poor people either of that Parish or
of Bettws adjoining", and enjoined the Parson to read
out in church every Whit-Sunday how this money had
been expended. £5 was for each Parish. He devised
to Anthony a Granary in Bridgenorth,and £112 12.v. 6(/.
The barn was to store 900 bushels of corn, to be pur-
chased when corn sold at 2s. 6(1. a bu:sliel. When
corn reached 4^*. a bushel it was to be sold ; the protit
to be given to poor housekeepers of Bridgenorth
" having three or more children".

To Anthony he left Pennarth Ucha, Pennarth Isa,
Pennarth Mill, and a Cottage and parcel of land.

To his son Edward '* a gold ring yearly at New
Years Tide of the value of two guineas at least".
[This ring was charged for in the Gregynog estate
accounts for many years after].

To Arthur, laixU in Kerry bought from Sir John
Churchman and the tenement of Maenllwyd.

To Thomas, lands, etc., in Highly, Salop and Gwer-
nawyd in Kerry.

To Mary, £3,000 and £G0 per annum, to niaintain
his daughter Frances.

He left nothing to Ann Weaver, who had married
John Blayney, and whose eight children died without
issue. Of John Weaver there is nothing to say ; he

VOL. XXX. K

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130 PAKOCHiAL HlsTottY OF TKEGVKoN.

was married, and left his property to his son Arthur
(3) and charges on it for his nieces. Arthur (3) died
unmarried in 1759, leaving his property back to his
uncle, Edward, but he died without issue and the
property went to his cousin Arthur Blayney, with
other bequests to his female cousins. The remaining
Weavers died out, and their property came chiefly to
Arthur Blayney. Mr. Thomas Weaver's wife seems to
have inherited the peculiarity of her father Arthur,
in leaving bequests of books, viz. : —

1726. '*The Pious wife of Mr Thos. Weaver to the Parish
of St. Leonards [Bridgnorth], which was the great Church
Bible & Common Prayer Book.''

All the children of John Blayney and his wire Ann
Weaver died without issue, including Arthur Weaver,
Ann's brother. Anthony Weaver having married, had
an only daughter, Susan Weaver, who married Henry
Tracy, eighth viscount, and thus the Weaver Estates
came into the family of Tracy.

Susan Tracy and Arthur Blayney were first cousins,
and at his death, after that of Susan, all the Gregynog
property was left to Henry Tracy. Thus all the
estates left by the first Arthur Weaver were again con-
centrated in the husband of his descendant Susan
Weaver, Lady Tracy.

Till recently, Susan Weaver has been looked upon
as being only '* cousin germane" to Arthur Blayney,
but it is almost certain that she was his first cousin,
as the Anthony H, shown as son of Anthony T in some
Pedigrees, cannot be traced in any register, nor is he
mentioned in any will or document; Mr. R. E. Morris
therefore concludes he never existed.

Extracts from Morville Parish Meyister.

The following extracts appear in an old account
book of Mr. Arthur Blayney, in his own writing : —

Johu Weaver, E^qre. buried Jan. 9, 1746
Aitluir Weaver, Esqre. his sou Ap. 16, 1759

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Parochial history of tregynon. 131

Tho8. Weaver, Esqre. Deer. 29, 1761

Kdward Weaver, Esqre. July 9, 1762

Arthur Weaver, Esqre. Nov. 2, 1764

The Hanbury-Trackys.

The history of Tregynon would scarcely be complete
without a few words respecting one family which, for
exactly one hundred years, made Gregynog Hall their
home : the family of Hanbury-Tracey — Barons Sudeley.

A full account of this noble and ancient family is
out of the question here, but it can be found in
Burkes Peerage.

The family is descended from the Saxon Kings of
England, and possessed till quite recently the estates
held by their Saxon forefathers.

Etheldreds daughter Goda married the Comte de
Mauntz, a nobleman of Normandy, descended from
Charlemagne, who became by his mariiage Lord ot
Sudeley and Toddington in Gloucestershire.

Goda's great-grandson John de Sudeley married
Grace, daughter of Henri de Traci, and their second
son William adopted his mother's name and was known
as William de Traci, who crossed the sea and was
one of the four knights concerned in the death of
Thomas a Becket.

A curious verse in the Golden Legend, printed by
Caxton in 1403, gives him the name of Richard, viz. : —

" RicJiardus Tracy Keginaldus Filius Ursi
et Wittus Brete necnou Morvilliua Hugo
Quatuor hi Thomam Proditorem interfecerc."

" Richard Tracy, Reginald Fitz Urse
And William Brette, as well as Hugh of Morville
These four killed the Traitor Thomas."

be<*iing on this, the writer, in searching through
the deeds of his brother-in-law, George Cruwys, Esqre.,
of Cruwys, Morchard Court, Devon, found a deed of
llichard I time, giving the grant of an estate in the

k:2

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132 PAKOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYKON.

manor of Aure in Devonshire to Oliver de Traci,
described thus in the deed book.

^* Gi-ant by Henry de Tracy to Oliver de Tracy of an Estate
called Bremelrigge, as also tlie tenure of Aure. N.B. — It
appears from the Crown Pleas of tho 9th year of Edward the
first (1281) that Aure was held by the followinp^ service, viz. :
That when the King should wish to hunt in Exmoor Forest,
tho Tenant was to provide him with two barbed arrows."

The original grant of Toddington to William de
Traci is extant, and the following is a translation of
this ancient and curious document.

Traiislatioa of the Grant of Toddington in the Counti/ of
Gloucester to William dc Traci, in the Reifjn of Hen, II,

Ralph of Sudr to all his men and ffriends french and english
as well present as to come, greeting, Know ye that I have
given and granted Tund' to William de Traci and his heirs of
me and my heirs in flfee and inheritance to be holden for his
homage and service and namely in exchange of Dercet of which
he is my man by the service of one Knight like as he formerly

held, save the pasture of my men, and the half meadow Tudint

I reserve to Sudl*. In Tudint aforesaid my wife hath four
librates of land in dower to wit in Norweut and for this dower
I appoint to her in exchange Bretegrave and Braclie which is
between Brete and Bretegrave and one hide of land in Hardewic
which yields 40 shillings, if it shall chance to happen that she
should survive me and shall be willing to take reasonable
exchange from my heir. And after the decease of my wife let
the hide of Hardewick return to Dercet and Bretegrave with

Brache to Sudl' and Norwent to Tudint and this by the grant
of my wife Emma and Otwele ray heir to whom William de
Traci hath given for acknowledgment one hunting horse black
and cropped all my Court looking on. These [being] Witnesses.
Emma my wife Otwele my heir. R. russel. Richard of Sudl*.
Thomas of Stanl*. Richard of Cnihtecote. Peter the Priest of
Witbiend*. Robert son of Adlward. W. Clerk. K Blundel.
R. daston W. of Bath. Robert dastin. Richard of Tancville

[Tankerville] and his Brother W. . H. Small (parvo) and

Helias his Brother. Richard of diclesd'. Richard of Venn.
G. murdac. W. of Wibbete. Philip of lancel*. Robert of
diclesd*. Richard son of H. dastin. Bertram son of Roger
of diclesd*. H. Bagod and many others.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNOK.

133

The Sudeley Badge is given in the Harleian MS.
4632, in the British Museum.

The manuscript belonged to Christopher Baker,
Richmond Herald, and was
compiled between the years
1522 and 1534, nnd is in
French with some English in-
terspersed, and many shields
of arms, pennons, etc., in
very rude trick with pen and
colour.

In a Division of this en-
titled " The Bearings of Arms
of the Great Nobles of Eng-
land'*, at the head stands the
Dragon and Fire Beacon for

the Lord of Sudeley. The neck of the Dragon is long
and regardant, with a chain of square links reflexed.

The Badge has been a long obsolete and forgotten
bearing of the Barons of Sudeley. A '* Dick" for
Badge of Sudeley, vide Ai^choeologia, vol. i.

The sketch given is from Bnrke, but there hung in
the church of Dercet in Warwickshire an old painting
of this Badge, somewhat different from that given by
Burke. This Badge has been used by the families
of Boteler and Belknap, on a wreath, for their crest, by
virtue of their descent from the Sudeleys through
the female line.

From the crossbeam in the church at Dercet was
suspended in later times a shield with arms thereon.
At the foot of the Fire Beacon is a Gryphon or Sala-
mander.

Badges have their origin in very remote antiquity,
before coats-of-arms became hereditary. They were
carried on the banner of the great chief, and wei e worn
by his retainers.

The colour of the Dercet Badge is dark green, the
woodwork of the beacon yellow, and the flame red.

The family of Tracy furnished many notable soldiers,

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134

PABOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

knights and sheriffs to the County of Gloucester, and
the family estate of Toddington was handed down from
father to son in an unbroken line till 1797, when the
male line became extinct in Henry Tracy, eighth
Viscount, leaving a daughter, the Hon. Henrietta
Susanna Tracy, who married, in 1798, her cousin
Charles Hanbury, Esqr., who assumed by royal license
the additional name and arms of Tracy, and was
raised to the Peerage 'in 1838 as Baron Sudeley of
Toddington.

The Hanburys came of an ancient family, the
Hanburys of Hanbury, Worcestershire, and from these

jjig|5-»4i^^:^-.;

The Lodge, Gregynog.

two ancient and honourable houses the present Lord
Sudeley is descended.

It may be fitting here to show the manner in which
this family became the owners of Gregynog Hall.

John Blayney of Gregynog married Ann Weaver in
October 1707, daughter of Arthur Weaver; their son
was Arthur Blayney of Gregynog. Arthur Weavers
grand-daughter, Susan, married Henry Tracy, eighth
Viscount Tracy of Toddington. Arthur Blayney died
unmarried in 1795, and left his estates to the Hon.
Henrietta Susanna Tracy, only child of Henry and
Susan his wife, and she married her cousin Charles
Hanbury, as related above.

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PAROCHIAf, HISTORY OF TREOYNON. 135

Thus, in 1795, the Gregynoor estates came to the
Hanbury-Tracy family, and in 1895 the estate was, to
the regret of all, alienated from a family which had for
ages received the respect and love of all.

A KNEW AY.

In vol. vi, p. 273, of the Montgomeryshire Collections,
John Arneway is mentioned in connection with the
Gregynog Estates in 1618.

"John Arneway sonne of Richard Arneway of Maesmaur
(Llandinam) in the County of Montgomery Gen: was found
dea<l in the River Severn, near Caersus Bridge, on 7th Nov
last" (1618).

John Arneway was manager of the Blayney Estates,
whilst the heads of the family, or at all events Sir Ed.
Blayney, first Baron Blayney, were holding military
commands in the armies of Elizabeth in Ireland. Joyce,
(laughter of John Arneway of Tregynon, married Aiistyn
ap Kees of Carno, who was on a jury list of 27 Eliz.,
and a member of the Blayney family. Margaret, the
sister of John Arneway of Tregynon, married Owen ap
Maurice ap Howell, who lived at Caersws in 1586.

Gilbert.

Amongst the Royalist composition papers appears
a petition from Henry Gilbert, clerk, of Whateley,
Warwickshire, in which he states that : —

** he is seized of an estate for tearme of his life, the re-
mainder to his wife for her life, the remaind' to Thomas Gilbert
his Sonne .... of and in a Capitall messuage or Tenem't
and three other messuages or tenets lying in Dolvorren,
Manafon, liatissa, Huggledreffe, [Ucheldre], in the County of
Montgomery, together with Lands and app'tenanees thereunto
belonging, of the yearly value before these troubles of £40."

There follows a receipt, dated 7 December 1641, for
his fine, which mentions lands belonging to Henry

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136 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Gilbert in IVogon, vvtiich is doubtless Tregynon, for
which he paid £3 65. 8d. in all.

In vol. xviii, ii, of the Montgomeryshire Collections,
pp. 290, 291, and 292, appears a marriage settlement
signed by Henry and Thomas Gilbert, dated 1633, of
lands, etc., and amongst these are mentioned *' Lands
in Trogon'*.

The lady in question, who was to marry Henry
Gilbert, was Mary, sister to Callingewood Sanders.

This deed is endorsed " Articles w'th brother Gilbert
for the Joynture of Sister Mary".

Mention is made therein of **Beandir Lands", ot
which there appears to have been some in this Parish.

There is still an earlier record of this family of
Gilbert in Archdeacon Thomas' History of the Diocese
of St. Asaph, in a grant of " Demesne lands" to Henry
Gilbert, 25 June, 7 Eliz. [1565], for thirty-one years.

It is not known what lands the Gilberts held in the
Parish ; the name does not occur in the Registers, so
that we may infer they were non-residents.

GWYNNE.

In the year 1678 we find John Gwynne as Curate ot
Tregynon, and in 1694 an entry appears in the Parish
registers : —

" Thos» Gwynne de Keven gwyddfod [Cefngwifed] Seperat :
May 1694."

And also one in 1707, thus : —

"Eliz: Gwynne de Keven gwithva [Cefngwifed] fil : Thomas
Gwynne Generosus sepulta 15 Ap: 1707."

Here we have Thomas Gwynne styled ** Generosus'*.

There are several other entries, giving the names of
his children : George, born 1707 ; a second Elizabeth,
born 1710; Robert, born 1713. In the entry of the
baptism of George and Eliz:, the father is styled
** Generosus".

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 137

In the year 1678 another entry appears thus : —

" Maria uxor Johanis Gwynne clericus de Treorynon Sepulta
fuit apud Llanvylling [?] 7 Sep: 1678. Quo die baptizatus fuif
Johannis filius Johannis et ejusdein Mariae."

This entry made by John Gwynne, the parson, of the
death of his wife, buried not at Tregynon bub at Llan-
fyllin, commemorates also the baptism of his son on the
day that she Wcis buried.

The family seems to have lived in the Parish till at
least 1743, when Thomas Gwynne was buried.

The old spelling of Cefngwifed gives a clue to the
right meaning of the word, which would read : The
abode conspicuously placed on the ridge of the hill.

SvER.

This family has been in the Parish for at least two
hundred years, for in 1635 we find William Seyre
holding a lease under John Blayney, Esqr., of
Gregynog, of a part of the Gelynog Grange.

In 1676 and 1680 the name of *' William Seyre ot
Aberhaley, Gen.", appears on the Jury Panel.

The Seyers owned what was called the Bronhafod
Estate in this Parish, and which in 1818 consisted of
the following lands : —

Rhosgoch Farm, Bronhafod Farm, The Cwm Dol-
laithady (this house has now disappeared, and the land
forms a part of the New House Farm), a portion of
New House Farm, the Heath, the Lane, and Penywain
(this latter is no longer a farm, the house having fallen
down, and the land is thrown into adjoining holdings),
the Gocus Mill, formerly a corn mill and stood where
the present saw-yards are placed.

This property has now been absorbed in the
Gregynog Estate. Bronhafod, which doubtless was
the home of the Syer family, is an ordinary farmhouse
with nothing to mark it as a home of a wealthy family.
It was from this family that the field known as ** Poor

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188 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREOYNO?^.

Man's Piece" came to the Parish officers, which piece
was eventually exchanged or sold for lands adjoining
the Parish property at Cefntwlch about the year 1815.

The origin of this family is unknown, but it is sup-
posed they were English and settled in Aberhafesp
early in the seventeenth century ; there are no members
of it still living in the Parish. The writer has heard a
Major Syers mentioned, and probably it was he who
sold the estate to the owners of Gregynog. The name
appeara very frequently in the Parisli registers spelt in
various forms: '*Tyer", **Sier", "Syre", ^^Seire", ^^Seir",
" Syars" and '' Sire".

As this history is written as a record of facts, it may
be worth while giving the names of this family as they
appear in the registers of the Parish.

" Xorris fil: NorrisSyer . Sepul: 12 June 1681

Joyce Syer sep : ei-at . . 28 Oct. 1693

Rich: Sier et Maria F:vei-an Matr: 13 July 1681

Maria Syre spinster . Sepult : 16 Aug. 1700

Norris Syer. Agricola . Sepult: 13 Jan. 170*

Prudentia filia Georgii Syer, Agricolae il Oct. 1704

et Jsium uxoris ejus bapt. (buried 8 Sep. 1712)

(Bapt.) Norris hh Juhanuis Syer plebs et 22 Dec. 170G

Maria uxoris ejus

(Sepult:) Johannis Syer, plebs . .11 .Vug. 1709

Jane Sier was buried . . 30 A p. 1728

Francis .Mason and Mary Syer married 9 July 1715

John son of Norris Syre by Ann his 5 Oct. 1734

wife was bapt.

Ann Syre was buried . . 1 Oct. 1734

Prudence daughter to Geo. Syer by 8 Sep. 1712

Jane his wife was buried

Richard Syer was buried . . 15 Oct. 1714

John Sire was buried . . 12 Mar. 17315

Richard the son of Norris Syer by 20 Nov. 1735

VVyusle [? Ursula] his wife bapt.

William ye son of Norris Sire by 14 Ap. 1737

Wyusle his wife bapt.

Thomas the son of Norris Sire by 30 Deer. 1738

VVyusle his wife bapt.

John the sou of Norris Syer by Vesle 31 Mar. 1741

hit wife was bapt.

Mary Scire buried . . 22 Nov. 1742

George Syer buried . . 8 Jan. 174^

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 139

John son of Evan Syer and Mary his 25 Nov. 1750

wife bapt
William son of Henry Herbert and 5 Oct. 1793

Catherine Seir I apt.
Uichd. Lewis married to Mary Syer, (J May 1812

both of the Parish
John Morgan of Newtown married to 20 Nov. 1812

Barbara Syer of this Parish
Cath : Syar of the Village buried 22 Aug. 1823, aged 74

Sturkey.

This family settled at Bettws early in the eighteenth
century, and one branch came to Tregynon early in the
present century.

The first comers to Bettws were two brothers,
William and Thomas Sturkey, taking up their home
at Highgate.

The earliest mention of the name in the registers
of Bettws is in 1746, the birth of a daughter Margaret
to William and Elizabeth Sturkey.

Thomas Sturkey married Jane Owen of Bettws,

daughter of Mr. Owen, who owned Tymawr,

where he lived, and the family of Sturkey seem to have
adopted the name of Owen-Sturkey after this alliance
of the two families. There is a monument in Bettws
Church to John Owen of Tymawr, who died in 1838
at the age of 75. He was highly respected for his
benevolence and uprightness.

It was at Highgate that Mr. Thomas Sturkey kept
Mr. Arthur Blayney s hounds.

The Sturkeys came from Herefordshire, and brought
with them a family of the name of Woodhouse ; placing
them at Henclog, a small farm held with Highgate,
and till within a very few years a Woodhouse occupied
this small farm.

This family owned a good deal of property, some in
Bettws, some in Tregynon : in our Parish the Fachwen
Hall, Coedyperthi, Tynrhiewin ; and at the Fachwen
built a large mansion, which was never quite finished.

Dr. R. H. D. Sturkey lived there. He was a well-

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140 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

known medical man, born in 1790, and was buried in
1862 at Tregynon.

His son, Henry Georp^e Sturkey, was also a medical
man and an author. He died at Wisbeach, and was
buried at Tregynon in 1875.

The only property now belonging to this family in
Tregynon is Coedyperthi.

Thomas Colley.

Mr. Thomas Colley was agent to Arthur Blayney,
Esqr., of Gregynog. He took an active part in some
of the principal movements in the County, and was
born in March 1757, of respectable parents, at The Old
Hall, in the Parish of Wellington, Shropshire.

A somewhat long account of the life of Thomas
Colley is found in the Evangelical Magazine of March
18 IH, which is too lengthy to reproduce in full.

He is said therein " to have improved his early
years so well, that at the age of 15 he was judged
competent to superintend a large iron manufactory".
He was therefore early in harness. Much is said in
this memoir of his religious thoughts : how he was
gradually led to think deeply of spiritual matters and
to have lived an exemplary life : always bearing trouble
with cheerfulness, and doing his utmost to help the
distressed.

The turning-point in his religious life seems to have
been his acquaintance with Sir Robert Hill, whose
teaching sank deeply into his mind.

** Whilst he was yet a boy", says the writer of the
memoir, "an agent to a gentleman possessing a large
estate in the neighbourhood requested his assistance
on some particular occasion in the management of the
estate ; and having thus had an opportunity of knowing
that Mr. Colley was well qualified to take upon him
the management of a large concern, recommended him,
when only twenty, to the late Arthur Blayney, Esq.,
of Gregynog, Montgomeryshire, to be his agent. When

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PAROOHIAT. history op TttKGYNON. 141

Mr. Blayney first saw him, he observed to the gentle-
man that he appeared too young for such an under-
taking, to which he replied, ' Sir, make a trial of him,
and, though young in years, you will find him old in
business*. He had not been long in Mr. Blayney 's
employ before he saw that he might place the most
implicit confidence in his judgment and integrity, and
without reserve entrusted him with the whole manage-
ment of his affairs."

How well the confidence was merited will be disclosed
by the fact that for forty-five years he remained as
agent to the Gregynog estate : eighteen years with
Mr. Arthur Blayney, and twenty-seven with his suc-
cessors. He established one of the first Sunday Schools
in the locality, in the parish church of Tregynon, where
he taught, with the assistance of his clerk and that of
the parish clerk. He lived till 1792 at Gregynog, and
then moved to Cefngwifed, marrying, in 1794, Jane
Bowen, daughter of Thomas Bowen, Esq., of Tyddyn,
by whom he had eight children, three of whom died in
infancy. He seems to have been a model husband and
father, ever anxious for the spiritual and bodily welfare
of his wife and family, his letters to his wife being
full of pious and kindly thoughts towards them.

In the year 1798, Mr. Colley purchased a piece of
land near Tregynon village, where he built at his own
expense a chapel, which was opened by two Calvinistic
Methodists, who preached in Welsh, and two Dissenting
ministers, who preached in English.

Mr. Colley was a busy man, and in his younger days
never allowed himself more than six hours' sleep, being
of course an early riser. He was not only agent to the
Gregynog estates, but also to Henry Procter, Esq., of
Aberhafesp Hall, and Benjamin Hyeth, Esq. He is
best known in this locality from his work in connection
with the inclosure of the waste lands of the county,
being one of the Commissioners selected to carry out
this complicated work, which engaged much of his time
during the last twelve years of his life. He was also a

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142 t^AROCttlAL HISTORY OF TREGtNON.

member of the Committee of Management of the
Montgomeryshire Canal, a work whicli was of surprising
benefit to the district, hitherto cut off from communi-
cation with business centres other than by roads, then
little fitted for speedy heavy traffic. The grand timber
of Montgomeryshire found its way to the great ship-
building yards, and many a stately frigate has been
built from the oak of this county, which up to this time
had been of little value except for local purposes.

In February 1812 he M'as seized with gout, to which
he seems to have been much subject in his later days,
and passed away on April 28rd, 1812, at the age of
fifty-five. A marble monument erected to his memory
is placed on the north wall of Tregynon church, bearing
the following inscription : —

" Sacred to the memory

Of Thomas Colley of Cefngwifed, Eiiq.,

in this Parish,

Who for thirty-five years was Agent to the

Gregynog Family,

And in that situation by his Employers

And numerous tenantry, was equally esteemed.

By private worth he secured individual regard,

And hy public merit attracted general respect.

Firmly attached to the sacred oracles,

His faith rested on the rock of ages,

Jesus Christ,

And produced those good works

Which adorn the Christian character.

He died April 23rd, 1812,

in the 56th year of his Age.

Rev. Thomas Olivers.

Mr. Richard Williams, in his Montgomeryshire
Worthies, gives a very full and interesting account of
the Rev. Thomas Olivers, who was born in the village
of Tregynon in 1725. He says : —

'* The Rev. Thomas Olivers was the son of Thomas Oliver
and Penelope his wife, and was born at the village of Tregynon
in the year 1725. His parents were respectable, and owned a
small estate. He was baptized Sept. 8th in that year. His

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^AKOCfllAL HISTORY 0^ TREGYKON. l43

father died in December 1728, and was bnried at Tregynon on
the 31st of that month, and his mother in the March following.
He was then taken charge of by his father's uncle (a man of
some property), who, at his death, left him a small fortune, and
also placed him under the care of his granddaughter, Elizabeth
Tudor, who, being unmarried, committed him to the care of her
father, Thomas Tudor, a large farmer in the parish of Forden.
Here he was boarded and sent to a local school until he w.-is
eighteen years of age, when he was bound apprentice. He
appears to have been at this time of a particularly gay and lively
disposition, fond of dancing and company, for in his Autobio-
graphy he states : * that out of sixteen nights and days he was
fifteen of them without ever being in bed'. Some years after-
wards he went to Shrewsbury, where he lived for some time,
and thence to Wrexham and other places. At Bristol he went
to hear the celebrated Whitfield preaching, whose sermon he
ever afterwards considered the means of his conversion.
Thenceforth his whole demeanour and conduct were entirely
changed. Leaving Bristol, he went to Bradford in Wiltshire,
where he joined the Wesleyan Methodist Society, and was after-
wards admitted a lay preacher. When he had been a local
preacher for about twelve months, he had the small-pox in its
most virulent form. On his recovery he paid a short visit to
his native county,' to receive his fortune which had remained so
long in Mrs. Tudor's hands'. With the money he bought a
horse, * and rode far and near, paying all he owed in his own
country', which seems rather to have astonished the people, and
particularly Lord Hereford, who, in fact, sent him to the stocks
because he had turned Methodist. Having paid every farthing
he owed in his own country, he went to Shrewsbury and did the
same. From Shrewsbury he went to Whitchurch on purpose
to pay sixpence, and thence to Wrexham, and satisfied every-
one there. He also visited Chester, Liverpool, Manchester,
Birmingham and Bristol — preaching wherever he went — and
finally returned to Bradford. Having paid about seventy debts
(which he could not accomplish till he had sold his horse, bridle
and saddle) he, with the small remains of his money, and with
a little credit, set up in business. Before, however, he was
half settled, he, at Mr. Wesley's request, gave it up, sold all his
effects, and went to Cornwall, setting out on foot from Bradford,
October 24th, 1753, preaching on his way; and for the next
twenty-four years he devoted himself entirely to itinerant
preaching in various parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
His preaching appears to have been of an earnest, convincing
character, attended with much success. About 1758 he was

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144 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

married at Whitehaven, ' after consultation with Mr. Wesley^ to
a Miss Green. In 1764 he paid another visit to his native
county, and preached in Montgomery, Newtown, Llanidloes,
Tregynon, and other places. About 1777 ho undertook ' the
care of Mr. Wesley^s printing, superintending amongst other
things the publication of The Anninian Magazine, This oflSce
he held for twelve years, but the work was not altogether
satisfactorily done, as the following entry in Mr. Wesley's
Journal, under the date of August 9th, 1782, shows : —
' I settled all my temporal business, and, in particular, chose a
new person to prepare The Arminiati Magazine ; being obliged,

however unwillingly, to drop Mr. , for only these two

reasons : 1. The errata are insufferable : I have borne them for
these twelve years, but can bear them no longer. 2. Several
pieces are inserted without my knowledge, both in prose and
in verse. I must try whether these things cannot be amended
for the short residue of my life'. This affair does not seem to
have in the least disturbed the friendly relations which
previously existed between Mr. Olivers and the great leader of
English Methodism. Mr. Olivers continued to reside in London,
where he exercised his ministry, as the infirmities of age per-
mitted, until his death, which took place somewhat suddenly in
March 1809, in the sevunty-fourth year of his age. His remains
were deposited in Mr. Wesley's tomb behind the City Road
Chapel. Mr. Olivers was certainly a man of considerable
natural abilities, and besides being an argumentative and some-
times powerful preacher, he took a prominent — though some-
what too bitter — part in the theological controversies of those
days. He was the author of several excellent hymns, printed
in most hymn books, the best-known being that commencing —

"The God of Abraham praise."

" He was also the composer of Hdmslcy, and other sacred
tunes, which were at one time very popular. The following is
a list of Mr. Olivers' publications: —

1. Hijmn on the Last Judynienty set to music by the author.
, 2. A Hymn of praise to Christy to which is added a Hymn
on Matt, vi, 29, 30.

3. A Hymn to the God of AhraJiamy adapted to a celebrated

air sung by Leoni in the Jews' Synagogue.

4. A Letter to Mr, Thomas Hanhy^ occasioned by the

sudden death of several near relations.

5. Twelve Ileasons why the people railed Methodists onght

not to buy or sell Unevstomed (roods.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 145

6. An Answer to a Pamphlet, entitled, ' A few Thoughts

and Matters of Fact concerning Methodism, offered
to the consideration of the people who attend,
encourage, and support Methodist Teachers', in a
Letter to the Author.

7. A Fall B^ly to a Pamphlet, entitled, * An Answer to a

late Pamphlet of Mr. Wesley against Mr. Erskine*.

8. A Letter to the Rev, Mr, Toplady, occasioned by his late

Letter to the Rev. Mr. Wesley.

9. A Scourge to Calumny, in two parts, inscribed to

Richard Hill, Esq. Part the first, Demonstrating the
Absurdity of that gentleman's Farrago; Part the
second, containing, A full answer to all that is
material in his Farrago Double-distilled. London,
1774.
\Q, A Full Defence of the Rev, John Wesley, in answer to
the several personal reflections cast on that gentle-
man by the Rev. Caleb Evans.

11. A Rod for a Reviler; or an answer to Mr. Rowland

Hill's Letter to the Rev. John Wesley.

12. An Account of the Life of Mr, Thomas Olivers, written

by himself.

13. A Full Refutation of the Doctrine of Unconditional

Perseverance, A Welsh translation of this was also
published.

14. A Defence of Methodism.

15. A Descriptive and Plaintive Eleyy on the death of the

Rev, John Wesley.

16. An Answer to Mr. Mark Davis s Thoughts on Dancing,

to which are added, Serious Considerations to dis-
suade Christian Parents from teaching their Children
to Dance."

KicHARD Mills.

He was a composer of Interludes, and lived at Cwm
Harry, a small cottage on the south-east outskirts of
the parish. He lived about a century ago, and died in
the Almshouse at Bettws.

Nonconformity.

A few Nonconformists were scattered over some of
the neighbouring parishes at the dawn of the Methodist
movement, and it was at the invitation of their pastor,

VOL, XXX. L

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14G PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

the Rev. Lewis Rees, of Llanbrynraair, that Howel
Harris first visited North Wales in 1739.

On this occasion, or in the following year, he visited
Llanwyddelan and Llanllugan, where a society was
soon afterwards organised.

Tradition says that he attempted to preach in Tregyn-
on village, but such was the opposition, that he had to
give up in despair, and escaped hurriedly from the
stones hurled at him.

Lewys Evans visited Tregynon during his tours in
North Wales, and Jeremiah Williams, of Dolgynfelyn,
was a near neighbour, commencing his preaching career
about 1760.

From the Methodistiaeth Cijmru we gather the
following fact relating to Methodism in this parish : —

" He (Lewy8 Evans) was the first to preach in the parish of
Tregynon, near a place called the Argoed. He met with a very
unwelcome reception here. No sooner had ho commenced
preaching than he was greeted with a shower of mud, filth and
stones, so that he had little hope of proceeding*. But at this
critical juncture a respectable yeoman named Lloyd, who was
in tho audience, and who also was churchwarden that year
[1782], shouted that he was a parish official, and demanded a
hearing for the preacher, whereupon the interruption ceased,
and the preacher proceeded. The Divine blessing accompanied
the discourse, and a daughter of Mr. Lloyd was converted.
She afterwards became the wife of Mr. Owen Brown, also a
professor. Mr. Lloyd resided at the Argoed, where the cause
has found a homo ever since.'^

Owen Brown was born about 1746 at Crowtom, near
Llanidloes, and became early attached to the Methodist
cause, though he suffered considerably for his principles
from the ill-will of his own family. It is said that he
j)aid secret visits to Llangeitho', effecting his escape
frou) home at night through a hole in a wall, returning
the following night, a distance of thirty miles at least.
Lewys Evans was his constant companion in these
midnight visits. Owen Brown's name is familiar from

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rAKOCHlAL HISTORY OF TKEGYNON. 147

his close connection with the first Sunday School move-
ment in Wales in the year 1770.

It was on one of his journeys taken for the cause
that he met his future wife at the Argoed, and settled
down at that spot in the year 1786. The Argoed
became a centre of this movement in the immediate
surroundings, and from thence many preachers pro-
mulgated their doctrines. The village of Llanwy-
ddelan appears to have resisted the spread of Method-
ism ; although Mr. Brown conducted many meetings
here, preaching from the top of a mounting block in
front of the village inn. This led to Mr. Thomas
Soley, of Pwllan, opening his house for religious
meetings, which continued to be held there for many
years.

In 1777, Mr. Thomas Colley settled in the parish as
agent to the Gregynog estates, and six years after took
up the cause of Methodism with great zest. He seems
to have been greatly influenced by the preaching of
the Rev. Richard de Courcey, and the outcome was an
earnest desire to further the religious and temporal
improvement of his neighbours ; and to this end he
established a Sunday school in the parish church at
Tregynon, which he regularly attended, with the
parish clerk and his own clerk, Mr. John Humphrys,
subsequently of the Rectory, Berriew.

This was one of the earliest Sunday schools in the
Principality, and proved very successful, and similar
schools were held in later years at Garizim, Argoed,
and Bronhafod.

In 1794, Mr. T. Colley married Jane, daughter of
Mr. Thomas Bowen, of the Tyddyn, Llandinara. She
was a Methodist, and the daughter of Methodist
pareAts, and this tended considerably to influence Mr.
T. Colley towards Methodism.

In 1797 Mr. Colley bought a piece of land at Rose-
mary, Tregynon, and built a chapel, or, perhaps more
strictly speaking, a school. This was opened by two
Calvinistic Methodist ministers, who preached in Welsh,

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148 TAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

and two Dissenting (Independant or Congregational)
ministers, who preached in English.

It was shortly after this that a society w^as formed
in connection with the Calvinistic Methodists, the
members being Messrs. Brown, Soley, and CoUey, with
their families, and one other. The chapel was open to
ministers of all denominations, though the Calvinistic
Methodist ministers availed themselves more frequently
of the privilege.

Mr. Colley was not well versed in the Welsh language,
and could not take part in the services in the vernacular ;
and a somewhat amusing account has been handed
down of the eiforts of the worthy minister to give him
the fullest benefit of his discourses, by addressing him
in particular in any important parts of his address, in
English.

The chapel resembled a dw^elling-house : it had an
open fireplace, a brick floor, and was seated with
benchea, the weaker sex being provided with benches
with backs to them. Mr. Colley sat in a pew of his
own, and there was also a " Wesleyan seat". In a kind
of box, abutting on the pulpit stairs, sat Messrs. Brown
and Soley, both of whom were exceedingly deaf, and
for whose edification Mr. Colley had not only provided
this seat, but also an ear trumpet for each of them.

Mr. Colley died in 1812, at the age of fifty-five, and
left by his will the chapel and the house attached, with
its furniture, to the Calvinistic Methodists, and a lease
for 999 years was granted them by Jane Colley, his wife.

Speaking of the chapel, we understand that about
1830 it underwent considerable alterations, and was
seated with pews after the orthodox fashion of that
day. In 1874 it was pulled down, having grown too
dilapidated and small for its requirements, and the
present chapel (Bethany) was erected on ground
exchanged with the then Lord Sudeley for the original
site, which had become the freehold of the denomina-
tion, the lease having been legally surrendered.

It was in 1807 that Mr. Thomas Charles visited

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 149

Tregynon, and so large was the congregation that his
sermon was addressed from the open window of the old
chapel.

With reference to the ministers connected with this
parish, perhaps the best known is : —

The Rev. Thomas Olivers j who was born at Tregynon
in 1825, and of whom a longer account is given already
in this history.

The Rev. Daniel Williams^ born October 20th, 1785,
at Glanedyr, Llanwyddelan, passed the whole of his
ministerial life at Tregynon. He began to preach
at an early age, and spent whole nights in fervent
prayer in a wood called Dol-y-gaer, near Newmills, in
company with his friend Humphrey Gwalchmai, with
whom he worked hard for the cause. He was a popular
Welsh preacher, and died in 1842, and was buried at
the Adfa. His son, the Rev. Moses Williams, began to
preach in 1846 at Tregynon, and is now a minister at
Bristol.

Richard Davies, of Llanwyddelan, spent his later
days at Tregynon, dying suddenly at the Church House.

The Rev, Thomas Frances^ late of Wrexham, lived
when young at Pant-y-wyntrhew, and preached his
first sermon at Beulah. He belonged to the Society
which met about 1827 at Moelywigedd.

William Pai^rt/, who emigrated to America.

The Rev. David Williams, of Llanidloes, who also
emigrated to America, resided at one time at Tregynon,
where he kept a day-school, and also at Beulah and
Bryn cae meisyr.

The writer is indebted to Mr. Thomas Hamer Jones,
of Tynybanadl, for the principal facts in the above short
history of Nonconformity in this parish.

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150 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

APPENDIX.

POEMS RELATING TO TREGYNON.

An Ode in Pbatse op David Lloyd Blayney, High Sheriff
OF Montgomeryshire in 1577.

This poem contains many genealogical allusions to the ancestors
of its subject, who was the son of Thomas ap Evan Lloyd ap
Griffith ap Evan Blayney by Gwenllian, daughter of Thomas
Hcrle (half-brother of Sir Richard Herbert) by Jane, daughter
of John Perrot, But it is noticeable that David Lloyd Blayney's
wife here mentioned is neither of the two noticed in the pedi-
gree given on p. 87, snprd, but Ufa Llwyd, daughter of Rhys
ap David ap Gwilim, whom he eulogises highly for her generosity.
The two counties (deudir) so often referred to appear to have
been Cydewen and Arwistly.

moliant Dd llwyd. hlaeniau pann oedd yn ssiryf ssir
trefaldioyn,

L Ysgwiair llwyd sy gerllaw
Yni sswydd einioes iddau

2. Gwr ith waed a gwyr oth ol
yn benn ssiryf baun ssiriol

3. a gwaiw mawr i pjymeriad
id do da duw oedcl dy dad

4. post euraid powis dir oedd
Kadw3m aur Kydewain oedd

5. nid yw gA\lad myn KadelP
Dd wych un Dd well

6. a dwyn deudir dann dadain
Arystal fyth arwystl fain

7. tonias ap levan annwyl

a garai r gerdd a gwyr gwyl

8. edn o honoch nad i wanhau
neb o linwaed y blaeiiiau

1 Cmlell Deymllwg, a prince of the fifth century, also a Prince of
Powys in the eighth century, about 804.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 151

9. Hew einion a llyweni^

a Hew garw chwym Hoegr ychi

10. wyt eurloiw gwaed hierl ag went'^
mon dewi^ manaw drwy went

11. pigod ar perod ywr peth
brain a llewod brynllaweth^

12. goHwyn^ Rys gethin^ gaHwych
maelor" ran a meiHr® wych

13. Ednyfed^ ddir gad ddeur gorff

a matond ^^ a gwaed mewn dy gorff

14. meirionydd mwy a rannoch
a larl Kawk eurHew Koch

15. mortmeriaid treforiaid^^ fydd
gnwd difai genyd dd

16. heiliarth yn hael wrth weiniaid
ichel rian Kyfan i Kaid

17. einion yrth^-^ deg naw nerth dyn
ychi un faint achynfynn^^

18. Elystani^ Kynan Kenyd (y 1) ch
tid aur gwaed tewdwr^^ wych

19. yn neuadd^*^ dy newydd deg
Arych tir wr eurwych teg

^ Llyweni, an old mansion in Denbighshire.

2 Gwent, the modem Monmouthshire.

3 Dewisland, co-terminous with the Bishopric of St. David s, or
thereabouts.

** Bryn Uaweth, or BrynHywarch, in Kerry.

* CoHwyn, the head of one of the fifteen tribes of North Wales in
the eighth century : he resided at Twr Bronwen, or Caer Collwyn
(Harlech). ^ Rhys Gethin of Bettws-y-Coed.

" Powys Faelor, Powysland north of the Tanat

^ Query, the same as Meilir Gryg.

^ Ednyfed Fychan of Tregarnedd, Anglesey. One of the
Crusaders, and the popular general and prime minister of Llywelyn
ap lorverth.

^^ Query Madryn, a Carnarvonshire mansion.

^1 Descendants of Tudur Trefor of Drewen (Whittington), an
aristocratic and wealthy nobleman of the tenth century, Earl of
Hereford, Lord of Maelor, Chirk, and Whittington.

12 Einion Urdd, son of Cunedda Wledig, fourth and fifth centuries.
Lord of Caer Einion, Montgomery.

1'* Cynfyn, Lord of Cibwyr, Gwent, eleventh century.

1* Elystan Glodrydd, Prince of rerl3^s and Earl of Hereford.

^■* Tewdwr Mawr, a descendant of Howel Dda, slain in battle at
Liang wm, a.d. 993.

^^ Neuadd-lwyd, originally Neuadd-Rhys-Llwyd.

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152 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

20. ynnis gwraig orau n hoU gred
orinwedd arra anned

21. aur efa Uwyd at tyllaw
mae harian nn heuraw

22. hael waed edchaul deudir

yn hau sserch ynn y chwe ssir

23. Rys fu wr gynt Roes fawr ged
Dd val brenin Dyf ed ^

24. Gwilim wych yn galw am win
yn un Kyff einion Kyffin^

25. goludog a lo ydoedd
glain a nerth gelynin^ oedd

26. a glain deudir glann didwyll
or trefor bur trwy fawr bwyll

27. ynnol obraw am gannw
mawl fu at honn melfed

28. Roddir beirdd y Ruddair byth
bu waed Rys bowyd trassyth

29. mam y glod hynod yw honn
yn rroi gwin yn rregynnon

30. yngrugynog wraig annwyl
mark a rodd ym er kerdd wyl

31. pob kowir doeth pob kar da
aent i ofynn ty efa

32. ni thair ssir eurllew klir klau
argorfydd gwyr ag arfau

33. eddaw kenych ddw kannwaith
lawer gwr i liwior gwaith

34. nad ith arail gynhailiad
na gwr brwysg a garo brad

35. bar athrydar ethrod weis
eryr ku a grair kas

36. ond dau ddengmis ichweission
ni ffery swydd na Hciz sson

37. mantais heddiw agai ssir
ymob sswydd ag ymbob ssir

38. ymaros dimawr y w stad
ameddyiiwch am dwy wlad

39. drych difai edrych dd
oreu i ssais byd y ssydd

* Dyfed, an ancient division of South Wales.

2 Einion Oyffin of Lloran, Glasgoed and Llansilin, and of Bodfach
Llanfyllin.

3 Celynin of Llwydiarth, sixth in descent from Aleth, King of
Dyfed.

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 153

40. ssarff gwaed wyllt h'ffwgeidiol
syr gawen^ wyd ar geinol

41. na wnewch gam wr dinam da
achar eilwaith nach weryla

42. Hew ewinog o llennwir
i lygaid ef liw gwaed ir

43. a chadw Voen sechyd i rai
a ssefyll arr ai ssatiai

44. yn ail Iwill yn ol ewillin
"wr ich gwlad enwch y glin

45. Kaem roi parch kymru ai peun
lor tynn deudir tann dadenn

46. Diiwgk fyth ych wr gwych lor gwynn
efrog kolerog klaer wynn

Llewys Dwnn ai kant 1577.

Translation.

An Eulogy to David Lloyd Blarney when Jte wa^ Sheriff of
Mo ntgoin et-ysh ire.

Squire Lloyd is close at hand.

In his office may he have [long] life,

An heir of thy blood and a long lineage.

A High Sheriff, cheerful peacock,

With javelins. Great is his reputation.

To him, thy father, God was good,

The golden Pillar of Powys land was he

And the golden Chain of Cydewain.

There is no better land by Cadell I swear.

Brave David nor a better David,

Sheltering two districts under thy wing.

Prosperous ever will be narrow-shaped Arwystli.

Thomas ap levan the dear one

Loved song and festal men.

Let no bird of your feather weaken

Ought of the race-blood of the Blaeneys.

The Lion of Einion and Llyweni art thou,

And the fierce impetuous Lion of England.

Thou art of the bright golden blood of the Herles of Gwent

Mona St. David's [the Isle of] Man, all Gwent.

Pigot and Perrott are the type,

The Ravens and the Lions of Bryn llaweth.

1 Sir Gawaine, referred to in the Arthurian romances.

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154 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

Collwyn, Rhys Gethin the shrewd,

Maeloran and brave Meilir,

Edny ved, keen in battle and strong in body

With blood of Madryn (?) in thy veins.

Henceforth may^st thou share Meirionydd.

And the red Earl of the golden lion

The Mortimers and Trevors will be,

Thy blameless harvest, David :

Heiliarth generous to the weak

Of high descent was wholly found.

Einion Yrth the handsome with the strength of nine men

Art thou and equal to Oynfyn

Elystan, Kynan also art thou,

A golden chain of brave Tewdwr's blood.

In the hall of thy fair new mansion •

On thy land, fair golden master :

In it is the best wife in all Christendom

Most virtuous that ever was born.

The gold of Eva Llwyd is at thy hand

Her silver too to vindicate thy right

Generous the blood of the two countries

Sowing affection's seeds in the six counties.

Rhys in time past gave great gifts.

David was the King of Dyfed,

Brave Gwilym called for wine

Of the same stock was Einion Kyffin

Wealthy as Alo was he.

The jewel and power of Celynin

And the jewel of two districts, fair and sincere.

From pure Trevor by great wisdom

In Dol obraw [qy. Dolobran ?] for a song

Of praise to her velvet . . .

For giving ever to the bards the reddish gold

Rhys's blood of a straight line

The mother of noted praise is she.

Giving wine in Tregynon

A beloved wife in Grugynog

She gave me a marc for my festal song.

Every wise and true man, every worthy kinsman.

Went to enquire for Eva's house

Winnow the county of the bright golden lion,

Where men of arms will prevail

A hundred times you may bring

Many a man to blazon the work

Admit not to thy attention or support

A hasty man that loveth treachery

Or feUows that clamour for revenge and slander

Eagle beloved hateful

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 155

But twice ten months to your servants

Their office will not last nor (pension ?)

To-day advantage is sought

In every office and in every county.

Wait thou, great is thy estate,

And consider the two worlds.

Look David into the true mirror.

The Englishman prefers the world that is

An impetuous Serpent of . . . Eidiol

A Sir Gawaine art thou . . .

Do no injustice good blameless man

Quarrel not with a kinsman a second time.

If the eyes of a fanged lion are filled

With the sight of fresh blood

[Blessing] be to those

Who stand their ground to save the wretched lamb.

A second Earl of golden lineage

A man for your country.

We should give the praise of Wales and its sovereign

God, draw the two lands under thy wing

A Duke art thou, brave man, bright chief.

Of York, collared and illustrious.

Lewvs Dwnn, 1577.

II.

Marxonad Oirain Blacniau csgirier

{Ilengvrrt MS., fo. 129a.)

Aeth anap vyth i meinon

Ar y sydd yn yr oes hon

dydd farn yn Rroi diweddfyd

deioes o been dros y byd

Duw n gyru gledd dwyn gwr glan

Du oer griod ir graian

Duw aroes Dydd i drist dau

Dwyn blaenor dan enw blaeniau

Duo nawoes dwyn Owain

Duo r Sir lie doe oe' gain

Aer howel gwnsel ygart

eryr ysgwiair eurw^art

Owain wyr Owain reiol

a chwyn aeth uchon i ol

Gwaed Ifan o gyd afael

oi blaen hydd y blaeniau hael

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156 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

gwaed veilir a henwir hwn

gryg kanoes gwr i kwynwn

broghwel gwr braich elw i gan

bur roddau breichiau broghwel

einion oedd anian addwyn

elystan lew Iwis dan Iwyn

or neuadd benn y byd

a sulien nawoes olyd

gwaed lowdden a gwen ar goedd

gwaed Seysyllt gwaed esoes oedd

gwaed Dewras brig urddas bronn

gwaed nanau a gwaed einion

gwaed ednyfed ddarged ddur

Ag awch ynto gwych antur

renn Ifor einion efell

at ryw vawr barch trefor bell

kar obtHttl) kowir ydoedd

kan oes dar ach kinastr oedd

kwyreiddwalch y kar addas

kryfl a gwych yn kyrfior gas

ar ol hwn ni byddwn ni byw

wylo sydd yn lys heddyw

Duo Stumgwern dwys dangudd

deiroes igred dros y grudd

gwae beryw fawr maelawr mon

draw ganwaith gwae dregynon

och oi alar uwch wylaw

uwch eb rol och a braw

I genedl fyth gynodl fawr

teiroes wylant tros elawr

brodur y gwr mewn brwydr y gwaith

obru wylant braw eilwaith

ai ch'iorydd trwch warant

yn wylo sydd yn ol y sant

gwae blant a gwynant o gur

gan levain a gaen lafur

I aer y sydd piaur son

wych loiw dawn uwch law dynion

Risiart teg eurwant ganiad

wrol doeth ar ol i dad

blaena hwnn y blaeniau hael

ben y dyrfa baun dewrfael

athair merch mewn traserch tro

iso n ol ysyn wylo

I elsbeth i bu beth bar

ag wylo mawT a galar

Duw ai gwyr isioes doe gam

amaur gwyn mai raawr gam

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PAROCHIAL HISTOllY OF TREGYNON. 157

ll)ma himp 11a wen o had

oil yn kyredd Uawn kariad

oer wylo gwlyb ar ol glain

o fair yw am farw Owain

trwstan ddydd troes Dduw yn ddig

trwy nad wyl traw nodolig

y kalan i bu kilwg

diwedd drang a dydd drwg

Duw or wedd fu n duor wyl

dydd eirad oedd i anwyl

Dwyn eryr da lawn euraid

Dwyn kyngor blaenor y blaid

Duw a wyr oil du or laith

Duw hynod wnaeth dihenudd

Duw a ro nef ir dewr.

Llewys Dwnn, 1599.

Tkanslation.

An Elegy to Owen Blayney, Esq. (of Yditnigwern in
Merionethshi re).

To Meirion has come a worse misfortune

Than has ever happene<l in this age,

A day of judgment ending life

A double meed of universal sorrow.

God has sent his sword and borne a good man

Under the sod, gloomy and cold lamentation.

God has sent a day of sadness

In taking away the Leader of the well-named " Blayneys".

He hath darkened nine generations in taking Owen,

He has darkened the County which yesterday was bright.

Owen, the heir of Howell, the counsellor of Garth (])

The Eagle of the esquires of the blazoned shields

Owen, the grandson of Owen the noble.

Has gone, followed by lamentation.

The blood of Ifan of Cydafael his ancestor (a Blayney)

The Stag of the generous Blayneys.

The blood of Meilir surnamed "Gryg",

A hundred generations we shall mourn him.

Brochwel the hero, an arm it was gain to have.

Worthy gifts were the arms of Brochwel.

Einion was of gentle disposition,

Elystan the valiant, amiable under the bush.

In the hall the chief of men

And Sulien, the wealth of nine generations

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158 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRfiGYJ^OM.

The blood of Llawdden and Gwen well known,

The blood of Seisyllt, the blood of

The blood of Derwas, a branch of high renown

The blood of Nannau and the blood of Einion

The blood of Ednyfed of the target of steel

And of eagerness for high emprise

The old chieftain Ifor, Einion Efell

To the sept of the honoured Trefor far away.

A kinsman he was, extraordinary true,

A hundred ages of the Oak — of the line of Kynaston

A hero that clung like wax, a real friend

Strong and brave in curbing the foe.

Now that he is gone, we cannot live

Lamentation to-day is in the hall

Darkened is Stumgwem, sad and gloomy

A threefold sorrow pours down the cheek

Woe to Berriew the great and Maelor and far-off Anglesey,

Woe a hundred-fold to thee, Tregynon.

Alas for the sorrow which is beyond weeping

Beyond utterance, sorrow and distress.

His family forsooth in Gwnodl Vawr

Shall weep in three degrees over his bier

His brethren in the conflict and the field

Shall weep below with renewed fear.

And his sisters, sad is the assurance,

Are weeping for the Saint

Alas, for the children mourning with grief

And crying aloud for their trouble.

His heir, according to report, has talents.

Fair and bright above his peers

Richard, comely and rich by common consent

Is manly and wise like his father,

The Leader he of the generous Blayneys.

And Head of the tribe, a brave chieftain (Peacock).

Three daughters, in most loving guise.

Surviving weep for him.

To Elizabeth has been much sorrow

And great weeping and lamentation

God knoweth

With much grieving there cometh injury
These are the happy offshoots of the seed
And all have attained the fulness ot love
Cliill and tearful is the weeping for the Jewel
But in vain, for Owen is dead.
Sad is the day that God in anger hath made.
For he shall not keep vigil on Christmas Day.
On New Year's Day was gloom
The end of life, an evil day,

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PAROCHIAL HISTOKY OF TREGYNON. 159

God cast a dark shadow on the festival

A day of snowstorms was his burial day

An eagle good and just and precious is taken away

The Councellor and Leader of his clan

Crod knoweth all things, and maketh language dark

The mighty God hath made him ageless

(rod grant heaven to the hero.

Llewys Dwnn, 1599.

III.

A Poem culdresscd hy Huio ArwystM to EIu/h ah Morys ah Owen of
Aherhechav} {Add. MSS., 14, 874, 167, i).

Duw a wnai gynt, enwog Ion,
Roi dewiniaid i dynion ;
Geirwir gynt fu, ni bu balch,
Dewin Dafydd, oen difalch ;
Dyn wys, mel Samuel dwy fawl,
Oed un sud ddewin a Sawl ;
Doniog eV)wch a daenioedd
At I'as, Duw Nef trostyn' oedd.
Dewin, beunydd, dan benaeth,
Wyf finnau it' Khys, ar tin traeth.
Nid ar hwyl yw dy fawrhau,
Heb chwennychu f'ebwch mau.
Edrychais dull, dry eh sy deg,
Y rhod yn Haw Duw yn rhedeg ;
XJn a ddring, drwy'i nawdd a'i rad,
Un a istwng yn wastad.
Galw Duw'n ddwys gael dy ddyfod
Freugarw hael i frig y rhod.
Dirwyn yr wyd erni,- Rys,
Ystod fawr, drwy'th tad Forys ;
Bon, y ddadl herwydd, ydych,
Blaen imp leuan Blaeneu wych,
Coed yw sy'nhir Cydewen,
Fal aur, o himp Feilyr hen ;
Sydd wych yn dwyn swydd o wr
Hwnt, oedd o hen waed Deuddur
Mae'n des yma'n destun

^ See pedigree, p. 87.

^ Ihidy vol. i, p. 300, notes 1 and 2.

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160 PABOCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

Dan waed mawr wy dy merch

Tad rhoddion Tudur Khydderch ;

Trwy weilch hen y treigla 'th hil

Adar gylfin drigeinfil ;

Da well-well yw dy 'wyllys,

Da yw bord drom dy briod, Rhys,

Gwenllian, fraisg winllan frig

Ar ddiodydd urddedig.

Ei thad, gwalch henaethiaid gwyr

Fry, Sion, f u oreu ei synwyr ;

Fam faeth, yn hoewfaith hefyd,

Yn uwch mam a iach ym myd.

Ysta'i sad ustus ydych,

Seuer^ ysgwier was gwych.

Mwy gras r dyf, ymgroes di,

leuane ydwyd yn codi ;

Eiginyn dwf o gnwd ar

A wna gwenith yn gynnar ;

Gwn, gnu briallu'n ei bryd,

Cafod fydd trwy'r haul a'i cyfyd ;

Cynnyddu, a ffynu ei phen,

Yn.y tes a wna twysen ;

Dyn gwinau, ir, dan ei gnu,

Wyd un ffunud yn ffynu.

Ni dda i'th yn ddoethineb,

FwTw dy naws yn frwd i neb.

E bjdd dyn heb wedd doniol,

Dyau march pen rhwydd gan Rhys,
Nad ta, Rys, oedd trahaus :
Ni fyn Duw Nef fyn'd yn wr
Na thraus, na thrahuswr.
Cynghor, yn wir, dewiniaid,
A rown it', Rys, er nad it 'raid ;
Er hyn dangwedd, rhandir lor,
Dygw i anghall dy gynghor.
N'ad weled, feistr, swyddged sail,
Un daueiriog yn d'arail ;
Drwg iawn y w deuair gan neb ;
Nid y w iawn ond un wyneb.

* Ysta = ys dda.

'-* Seuer — Anglice, sewer — an officer of the royal household whose
duty it was to serve up dishes on occasions of ceremony at the table
of the Sovereign. The office would seem to have been maintained
as a title of honour long after it became obsolete in practice.

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PAKOCfllAL HISTUKY OF TREGYNON. 161

Na fwrw'n hawdd un fam hyddysg

O'th ben, ond trwy'r ddalen ddysg.

D'arlen na fyn absen neb,

I ddeutu cyn rhoi d' ateb

Na ddwg wyn i ddigoniant,

Na choU ben d'edau'n dy chwant,

Drwy iawn bwyll dirwyn bellen,

Drwy bwyll y doir i ben.

Edrych, gwr dewr, i'ch gorallt,

Pa'r ych a ddring top yr allt,

Ych Uonyddach Uawen iawn

A bery'n hir o brydnhawn.

Na' Iw i'th raid, nad blaid blwng,

Ond a elwych yn deilwng.

DaV gam a fawdd dwr i gyd

Na thristiwch ffol na thrawsteb,
Na chysgwch dan ebwch neb ;
Na thrippiwch nerth i'r epil,
Nid wych wanhau dyn o'ch hil ;
Nid hwyrach yn y teiradd,
Na chai dy roi'n uwch dy radd.
Od oes goel, ni a'i ddisgwyliwm
Melynu'r dorch ymlaen dwn.
Diflin y rhoid felynaur,
Nid hwyrach it' ddwyn torch aur.

Translation.

God the great Ruler in times of yore

Gave magicians to mankind

Formerly they were truth-telling, sincere

Was David's magician, not flattering

At a man's summons divine Samuel

Appeared to Saul's magician.

Gifted with speech and protected

Were they by the God of heaven

A magician, daily, am I also

To thee Rhys, at the sea sliore

To praise thee is not to me a task

Distasteful but I sigh to do it.

I looked around me, fair prospect

On the course of God's providence

One ascends through His protection and favour

While another is at the same time reduced

VOL. XXX. M

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162 Parochial itisTORY of tregynoK.

Earnestly pray God that thou may'st ascend

To the summit of the wheel thyself

Thou dost wind upon it, Rhys

A goodly lineage through thy father Morys

A noble stock, for you are descended

From leuan Blaenau, gallant one

A tree that in the land of Cydewen

Is esteemed as good as gold, of tlie line of Meilir lien ;

Bravely bearing a high olliee

Derived was he from Deuddwr s blood

My subject is .

Two illustrious bloods join

In thy father, flowing from Tudur Rhydderch

Through old heroes thy linejige ascends

Sixty thousand beaked birds

Good and still better is thy will

Good is the heavy table of thy spouse, Rhys,

Gwenllian, fairest orchard tree,

Laden with choicest drinks.

Her father chief among chieftains,

Sion, superior in wisdom

A kindly foster-mother too I find

In your mother, happy my life.

A grave justice are you

And a Sewer^ esquire also

Thy favour will grow, beware

For thou art young and rising

The young blade sprouting in the cornfield

Will ere long grow into ripe wheat.

So in its season a primrose-coloured crop

Will burst forth after a kindly shower

Favoured by the sunshine and the heat

The ear will grow and increase in weight

So, thou with reddish brown locks

In the same fashion growest

Thou wilt tind it to be wisdom

Not to show hot temper towards any

If a man should not possess a gifted spirit

Rhys can discern a good horse
From one that is of a wilful disposition.
It pleases not ixod that a man should grow
To be arrogant or haughty.

1 See nota

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t>AhOOHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON. 163

Indeed, the counsel of magicians

I would give thee, Rhys, thougli tliou nec^dest it not,
Yet thy advice may be carried to one that is unwise
Master, let there not be seen attending thee
In any office a double-tongued person
Very unwelcome to all is a double tongue
And to shew more than one face is not right
Be not hasty to express thy opinion
Before thou hast well considered it
Listen not to slander of anyone
But hear both sides before giving thy judgment
Let not thy wrath triumph over thee
Lose not control of thyself through lust
With patience wind tjjy yarn into a ball
For by patience thou wilt accomplish it soontst
Observe in climbing up a hill
Which is the ox that soonest reaches the top
For oft the quieter ox will continue
To work the whole day long
Call not to thy aid but such
As thou deemest worthy of thy confidence.
Good is the wrong that water will entirely drown
• •••••

Trust not a fool nor an usurper

Sleep not beneath the groans of any

Trip not, may thy progeny be strong

Let not a man of thy begetting be a weakling

Possibly in the three [social] degrees

Thou mayest be raised to a higher degree

If there be any heed to an omen, we will expect

A golden collar in time to come

The yellow gold has been given unsparingly

Perhaps thou wilt yet bear a golden collar.

IV.

Thomas Prys ap Huw o Drc(jynon
(Hengmrt, M., fo. 212).

Y dewr or gwaed eryr gwych
oi blaen od bla<^niau ydych
tomas brig urddas brag wyd
trwy ge<lyrn tiriog ydwycl
Aer blaennys wyd ar blan serch
aelaw roddion ail i rydderch

M 2

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164 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TREGYNON.

aer rys wyd aroisidan
ag aur ir gler geirwir glan
wyr huw glan wr hoiw i glod
at rrinwedd wyd dewr hynod
gwr reiol gor wyr owain
. Gwcha er eu gwych aur Ian
aer leu^n ni wan a wyd
ba lin sy well blaenys wyd
o lin veilir Ian felwas
a braich ail rym broghwel ras
larll kaer lleon son y ssydd
gwr goludog or gwledydd
o hwnn dad i dad ydych
hyd fann draw tonms i drycli
o du mam ido un oes
drwy gynydd hoch di ugeinioes
o sein gatael Sion gyfiawn
leu'n goch oedd enw gwych lawn
gwaed lioll yn goed hoiwych
leu'n madog enwog wych
genau r glynn towyn yt oedd
o dy ryddeirch do i raddoedd
ach o geri wych gowrain
a gaid o brig gwaed y brain
Einion elystan anwyl
yw braich dawn hynt broghdyn hwyl
Korbeidiaid llonaid y llys
gwaed gwynedd gida gwenys
dewddwr ai had oedd yn hil
trwy fawr hap trefor epil
mathafarn gadarn godiad
ail osswael hen seyssyllt had
tid aur kawn tewdur kynan
kawn fwyn rent kynfyn ai rann
Arglwydd kydewain eurglod
un Hew glwys ennill i glod
klod tomas klyw yt yma
kodiad ardal kadw air da
tynni da wyd dann dy lau
tref gynnon tra fo genau
dy dy tomas addas wyd
Duw ith adael doeth yd wyd
yw llys rrydd ai lies ai lies roddion
Agardd serch y gerdd ai sson (/ Hon)
Ag yno mae y wraig anwyl
a roe rodd o aur yr wyl
dyddgu hael dyd(l gwiw i honn
dai rriolad or haelion

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PAKOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREUYNON. 165

eb awr boen i bir ai bwyd

gwyl uchel ai golochwyd

agor seigiau gwressogion

i gyrr duw hael gair da honn

merch gruffudd ar gy nnydd gwycb

niaer rriolaetb nior baelwych

wyr owain y w or un iach

da ry w bynod y wr ben iacb

Gruft' goch gorboffaidd gynt

Arglwyddi arwyl oeddynt

penryn wycb pwyn rroi n well

Ar i kodiad or Kadell

Arglwydd kydewain glann glwys

a gair golud gwr gwiwlwys

acb imain Iacb yw n node I

a di esgus i dysgodd

lawn acb iw un wycb oedd

eglyw deudir glod ydcKuld

powel ednop (lop y dawn

kloen gynnydd ag einiawn

bowel fycban glan i gler

blaen^ seldwf blaenys baelder

un waed yw bi lili Ian

ai gwr enwog ir anian

lecbyd einioes dyniad

ym bob rrodd gyd- a niab rrad

gwr wyt tomas gwar tynng

y karw dewr doetb koidiar dig

heddycbwr bawdd yw i cbwi

byrddu nawdd in barddu ni

baela gwr o bil y gwaed

or byw agwaed rrowiawg waed

byna ir 11 in o ben leirll wyd

ben awdur or bain yd wyd

ben fu foessen benn y byd

bwy del uwcb boedl a iecbyd

LL: DwNN, 1602.

1 Tbis word is under a blot of ink.

2 Blot.

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166 PAHOCHIAL HISTORY OF TREOYNOX.

TliANsr.ATIOX.

7lHtnn(s J\-i/s op Ififir of Trrtfj/iion.

Hero of the blood, l»old ea^lo

Art thou by tlie stock of the Hlaeneys

Thomas Hosver of honour art thou

Through powerful owners of land

Heir of Blaenys art thou

^^Tenerous his gifts second to Rhydderch

Heir of Rfiys art thou who gave silk

And gold to minstrels truth to tell

(Irandson of Hugh of fair fame

Virtuous and brave art thou

(Jreat grandson of Owain

Bravest of them all notwithstanding their fine gold

Heir of leuan, that was not weakened

A Hlaeney art thou, what b(»tter stock ?

Of the stock of Mcilir Melwas

And a branch next in prowt»ss to Hrochwel

Karl of (yliester of great fame

A wealthy man through the lands

From him, from father to s(m, thou, Thomivs,

Art descended — a lengthy line.

On your mother's side one generation

May you increase for twenty generations

Of righteous John's pledge of inheritance.

(From Senagafael daugbter of John the Just)

leuan (ioch was a very good name

Of the blood of Howell of the Wood of spirite<l

bravery
Jeuan Madog brave and illustrious
Of GenauV (ilyn, Towyn, was thine
Of Rhyddercb's house, a lineage good
Descendinl from Kerry a fair lineage
And of the choice blood of " the Ravens"
Einion son of Elystan, dear one
Tn a branch of the R rock ton line,- -
The Corbet s are full the <'ourt-
The blood t>f (Jwyncdd and of (Jwenwys
Deuddwr and its progeny were of the stock
And of the lineage of Trevor.
Mathafarn of {u)weifnl ancestry
Second to Oswald, seed of Scisyllt Hen.
In the golden chain we tind Tewdwr, Cynan,
And Cynfyn witli his portion

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PAROCHIAL HISTORY OF TRKGYNON. 16'

Lord of Cydewain of golden fame

A noble lion earning his fame

The praise of Thomas, hear it now —

The honour of a country is to preserve a good name.

Thou gatherest herds under thy yoke

Tregynon, while there are mouths [to proclaim it]

Will l>e thy proper home Thomas

God preserve for thee, for thou art wise,

(renerous thy court and benefactions

Love's garden, praised in song :

And there the beloved wife is

Who is wont to give gold at the feast

Dyddgu the generous, long life to her

Of generous ones the chief

Dispensing without a moment's waiting her beer and

provisions
On high festival, and days of refuge — providing a

refuge
Uncovering her steaming dishes
May God spread abroad her praise,
Daughter of Gruffydd splendidly prosperous
Ruling leader so generous
Grandson of Owain is he of the same stock
Of excellent quality is the old stock
Of G rutty dd Goch well- beloved of yore :
Lords of entertainments were tliey
Penrhyn the gallant, who more worthy ?
Rising from Cadell
Lord of fair Cydewain
A man reputed to be wealthy
Of honourable lineage in direct line.
And without excuse she learnt it
A direct lineage it was and honourable.
Its praise resounded through two districts
Powel of Ednop heading the line
Bond of growth with Einion, —
Howel Fychan protector of minstrels
Offshoot of Blaeney's generosity
She, fair lily, is of the same blood
As her famed husband
A life of health be to you
And every gift of God and the Son of Grace.
A man art thou Thomas of gentle disposition
Chieftain brave and wise to appease wrath
A peacemaker, it is easy for thee
To extend protection for our adornment
Most generous of all the offspring of the blood
Of blood that is genial and good

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168 PAROCHIAL HISTORY OP TREGYNON.

Oldest of the lineage of old Earls art thou
A venerable renovator of these thou art
Moses was old, the world is old —
Longer still may life and health be thine.'

L. DwNN, 1602.

^ For the translation of these poems and the notes, thanks
are due to Mr. Richard Williams, F.R.HistS., and Mr. J. Hamer
Jone& — Ed.

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169

MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-LORE.
By the Rev. ELIAS OWEN, F.S.A.

A Spectral Funeral,

It is of importance, when recounting tales similar to
the one I am about to relate, to give the names of the
parties mentioned in the narrative, and also the source
of the information. I will not attempt to explain the
hallucination, if it may be called by this name, but
shall at once proceed with my tale.

My friend, the Rev. David Davies, Vicar of Llan-
silin, related to me the following strange occurrence.
He stated that he knew personally the man who
figures in the story, and that the event and the circum-
stances connected with it were common topics of con-
versation. But to proceed : —

A shepherd named Lloyd, living at Llwyn-y-gog,
near Dylife, in the parish of Trefeglwys, went one
evening to visit his father, who lived about two miles
otf, and started homewards about eleven o'clock. At
a place called Craig-y-dduallt, he found himself in
the midst of a funeral procession. He was greatly
frightened at this, the more so as a funeral in such a
place was a most unlikely occurrence. When he got
to Llwyn-y-gog he informed the inmates of the event.
They saw that it was a vision, and thought, according
to the popular idea, that it foretold a death, and that
the real funeral procession would follow the very course
taken by the phantom burial.

Lloyd often spoke of the singular sight which he
witnessed, so much so that all the neighbourhood
became acquainted with his statements, and looked
forward with dread to the fulfilment of his vision.

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170 MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-T.ORR.

Some there were who discredited the man, for they
could not see how any funeral could come from the
bare uninhabited mountains ; others were only too
ready to believe the improbable tale.

About three months after the vision there was a
heavy snowfall, and the hills were covered with snow,
and the drifts were deep. This is a trying time to
mountain farmers, and they do what they can to rescue
their sheep from being buried in the drifts. Lloyd
went to the hills for this purpose. He took his dogs
with him, and proceeded towards the mountains. On
the way he called at a small inn, and had here a glass
of rum and hot water (for it was cold), and this was the
last time he was seen alive. He started for the hills.
The next day the dogs came home alone, and it was
suspected that something serious must have happened.
He was traced to the inn, but nothing more w^iis done
that day ; the snow made it impossible to follow his
footsteps. The next day, however, a determined search
was made by all the adult population, and they suc-
ceeded in finding his body buried in the snow. Life
had not departed, but he never recovered consciousness,
and his neighbours carried hun home, taking the way
the phantom funeral had taken. This man had met
his own funeral.

I will only add that the man's sad death, and the
circumstances said to have preceded it, were subjects
of common conversation at the time the death took
place. Neither did anyone doubt afterwards the truth
of the vision which Lloyd had seen.

Ffynnon Eliaii.

I have already written about the baneful effects ot
believing in the cursings uttered at this well. A
gentleman told me the following tale, and, as it is said
two Llanidloes men figured in the matter, I will
reproduce it.

Two men went from Llanidloes to the well on behalf

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MoNTGOMKKYSHIRK FOLK-LORK. 171

of their sister. It was a long walk to undertake, and
proves that the people far and wide had great confi-
dence in the efficacy of the water.

These men had reached the neighbourhood of Llan-
elian, but did not know where the well was nor how to
reach it, so they accosted a man they met on the road
and asked him where it was. They told him why they
had come, and where they came from, and the object of
their visit. He informed them that the well was close
by, but he advised them to return home at once : that
there was nothing in the well, that it was altogether a
terrible sham, and a shame that the people were so
superstitious. The men, however, intimated that as
they had come far they had better proceed to the end
of their journey. Seeing that his advice was thrown
away upon them, this person directed them how to go
to the custodian's abode close by Ffynnon Elian, and
taking a short cut reached Jack's house before the
strangers could arrive there, and told him of his coming
visitoi^, their errand, and whence they had come. By-
und-bye they arrived at Jack s cottage. He told them
to sit down, as they must be tired, having walked from
Llanidloes.

The men looked at each other, evidently surprised at
Jack's astounding knov/ledge, but they were still more
so when he revealed to them the business that had
brought them to him, and that he had been expecting
their visit. Jack told them that he could do all they
wished, but that it would cost them five pounds. The
men had only four pounds ten shillings between them,
and Jack (the well-keeper) told them he would trust
them for the balance. These men departed, rejoicing in
the success that had attended their undertaking.

It would seem that many of the inhabitants of
Llanelian were in collusion with Jack. Possibly the
men on this occasion were put off their guard, because
the person they had met had advised them to go home
again without consulting Jack, as the whole thing was
a sham.

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172 MONTGOMKHY8HIRK FOLK-LOUK.

There is one small particular in the above narrative
which differs from Jack's defence when on his trial.
Jack said in self defence that he never charged anyone
for his services, but in this case he demanded five
pounds, and perhaps when before the magistrates his
memory conveniently failed him.

Social Folk-Lobe.

Unhaptized Children.

It was considered unlucky to place children who had
not been baptized in cradles. After they had under-
gone the rite they might be left alone in their cradles,
but not before. They were nursed on their mother's
lap before this event.

Banns of Mannage,

It is the rule to publish the banns on three successive
Sundays. If the person forgets to do so in the morning,
he has been known to do so during the evening service.
But this is considered a sure sign that the marriage
will be an unfortunate one, and accompanied with
misery to both parties concerned.

I was lately informed by a person that, years ago,
the minister had forgotten to publish the banns in the
morning, but he did so at Vespers, or Gosper, as it is
called in Welsh ; and the truth of the superstition was
in this case proved, for it was a miserable married life
that those people spent together.

Falling into an Open Grave.

This is supposed to foretell dire calamity to the
person so doing, and instances have been adduced to
prove the correctness of the superstition.

Cutting Babies' Nails,

Babies' nails should not be cut for twelve months, to
save them becoming thieves, and from other calamities

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MONTGOMEKYSHIRE FOLK-LOKK. 173

Time to Sow Garden Seeds.
Saints' days should be avoided, particularly St. Marks'
Day, for nothing will grow if sown then. ^Iso, never
sow when the moon wanes, but sow when the moon
waxes, and the seeds will thrive.

Direction in which to Sleep.
Sleep always with the head towards the north.
This will secure a long and prosperous life. I was told
by a farmer 8 wife that there had been a bed placed
north and south, so as to get the head towards the
poles. It was placed thus solely with this object in
view. I do not know whether the family have or are
likely to live long and happily ; but I feel sure they
will, because of their natural dispositions, which are
peaceful and contented.

Servant Girls' Bled once Yearly.
A rector's wife in Montgomeryshire told me that she
remembers when a child seeing a servant girl bled, and
this girl was in the habit of getting bled yearly, for
she said she was not healthy otherwise. It was common
to bleed animals on St. Stephen's Day, and it would
seem a similar practice was common among men and
women — if not even children — and probably on the
same day. This, though, is no longer practised.

Full Moon and Ailments.

It is thought that all sicknesses are worse when the
moon is full than at other times.

Parting at Stiles.
Be Ciireful not to say good-bye, or shake hands, at a
stile, for it is sure to be followed by a quarrel between
the parties who separate thus at that place.

Finding out the Colour of the Hair of your Future

Wife.
Go to a holly-bush and take from beneath it a handful
of grass. Bring the grass to the house, examine it care-

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if 4: MONTGOMKRYSHIKE FOLK-LORhi.

fully, and you will find a blade of grass of the same
colour as your future wife's hair. The same test holds
good for a female.

Sayings.

There is one kind of folk-lore that hitherto I have
not alluded to; that is, the pithy sayings of old people.
These we are fast losing, and unless they are gathered
up and written down from the lips of the illiterate, we
shall be the poorer for the loss.

It is so seldom that original remarks are made, that
we are glad to preserve even one such gem.

I was lately talking to an aged woman, and she made
remarks against a neighbour's habit of gadding about
from house to house to carry tales. I was somewhat
struck by her not doing what her neighbours did, and
she said, in answer to my remark approving her
conduct : —

** I will not open my mouth to fill other people's."

Meaning, if she uttered spiteful slanders about her
neighbours, the persons to whom she opened her
mouth would gladly fill theirs with her sayings, and
repeat them to others, to her own and other people's
damage.

Old Mr. Morgan, of the "Angel" Inn, Llanidloes, was
in the habit of saying : —

" A nimble penny is worth twenty slow shillings."

Meaning that pennies that come into the till often,
amount to a greater sum than that produced by shilling
sales.

I was speaking to a parishioner, Mrs. Probert, Porthy-
waen, a native of Llanfechain, about her good crop ot
hay. Her answer was : —

'* The Lord fits the back for the burden."

/.e., it was all acceptable, because necessary, and sent
just when it was needed ; she could manage with that
extra crop.

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MoNTGOMKRVSHIRK FOLK-LORE. 175

The frugal wife, careful of little matters, a native
of Montgomeryshire, was in the habit of saying : —
*' Take care of the pence and the poiui'^ls will take care of themselves."

Another of her pithy expressions, to secure neatness in
the house, was : —
" Take care of the corners and the middle will take care of itself."

Which meant if the girl swept the corners of the room
she would assuredly sweep the centre ; for, if dirty,
everybody would see it, and this such a girl wished to
avoid.

A Suspected Thief,

Hens, unfortunately, lay but one egg daily, though I
have known the same hen lay two occasionally on the
same day, one in early morning, and one in the
evening ; but one is the usual number. A. lady once
suspected her servant-man, who was a bit of a
character, of relieving the nest of eggs, and she was
determined to let him know that her suspicions were
aroused, so one day she wrote on the nest egg : —
"Thou shalt not steal.*'

The next morning she went to the nest and found

there the nest egg, with these words written over it : —

" Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

I do not know which was cured the most effectually,
the mistress or the man. This silent repartee was so
good that I treasured it in my memory, and give it for
the amusement of the readers of these notes.

Charms.

Corns are stubborn things to be removed, but I
lately became the possessor of a marvellous recipe for
their removal, and that, too, a painless one. I feel
sure I shall be a real benefactor by letting others
know how to ^'et rid of their corns. Let me first of all

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176 MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-LORE.

tell them thsA, fasting spittle has many virtues, and not
the least of these is the power to cure corns.

Sufferers are to proceed as follows : — Every morning
as soon as they get up they must anoint their corns
with spittle, and this they must do daily for nine suc-
cessive mornings. Care, however, should be taken
never to miss the anointing. Then, after the nine days
are over, they must stop the anointing for nine morn-
ings, and at the end of the nine mornings the anointing
must be resumed ; care, however, should be taken to
count exactly the days. This alternate process should
be continued until the corns disappear.

Do not laugh when I tell you that I got rid of
stubborn corns by this simple process. Try it, and you
will thank me, unless, forsooth, there is no gratitude in
our constitutions, in which case I pity you, and believe
you still belong to the Neolithic age.

Warts.

There are innumerable charms for getting rid of
these. I have an infallible one which I will not divulge,
at least at present, but I will tell you another almost
as good. Take the inside of a bean — the downy side —
rub the wart with it three times, and then throw the
bean-pod away, and tell no one what you have done.
Continue the process as long as you can, but the warts
will disappear in a few weeks' time without your know-
ledge.

I think I have given the readers a suflScient medley
of folk-lore for the present. I have, however, such a
quantity by me that I do not know when I shall
exhaust my store collected from the many people with
whom I came in contact during my many rambles in
Montgomeryshire and other parts of Nortli Wales.

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Thk Souhck of the Severn.

THE SEVERN.^
By Mr. THOMAS J. DAVIES.

The Severn was proudly designated long ago the Queen
of British rivens, and although we must probably admit
that the Thames is a longer and more important one, it
is still open to us to prove the superiority of the Severn
to the Thames as regards its beauty and its historical
and poetical associations. As regards length, the
superiority of the Thames has, by many able men, been
fairly disputed.

The Severn rises in Powys, which we are told is the
Paradise of Wales, for we read in the Red Book of
Ileryest, "Powys Paradwys Gymru". It formed the

^ This Paper was in the first instance delivered as a Lecture, and
this will explain the form in which it is cast.

VOL. XXX. N

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178 THE SEVERN.

boundary between the Roman province of Britannia
Secunda and the provinces of Britannia Prima and
Flavia Caesariensis, except as regards the latter between
Uriconium (now Wroxeter) and the mouth of the Deva,
or Dee. Its birthplace is on the Montgomeryshire
side of Pumlumon^ (literally five lights, and meaning in
all probability the site of the five beacons). The height
of this mountain is 2,469 feet above the sea-level.
The river is for some eighty miles distinctly a Powysian
river. From Llanidloes it flows through singularly
cheerful and sunny vales ; and its general character
below, say, Newtown, is to-day that of a deep, fast-
flowing stream ; the scenery of its course having little
wildness, but being remarkable for the breadth and
richness of its landscapes : and I call your particular
attention to this fact, viz., that to what I may call the
highlanders of Wales, and the people of the colder and
less favoured districts, this river must have ever been
the ideal of the " summer flowing". The river's course,
including its magnificent estuary, is given in Lewis's
English Rivers as upwards of two hundred miles long,
and the mouth of the estuary as five miles across.

Keith Johnston, in his Physical Geographyy tells us
that the river Severn is one hundred and seventy-eight
miles long, has the second largest drainagre area in this
' island, and is navigable nearly up to Welshpool,* one
hundred and twenty miles from its mouth. It is con-
nected with the Thames, its rival in fame, by a canal
called '* the Thames and Severn Canal", completed in
1 789, and referred to but not travelled along by Black,
in his novel, The Strange Adventures of a House-Boat.
This canal passes through the Cotswold Hills.

The spriag-tides come up as far as Worcester, and
the tidal wave called the Bore (a name traced by some
writers to the Icelandic Bdra, a billow caused by wind,

1 The name is spelt Plymmnia in Humfrey Lhuyd's Britatmica
Desct^ptio, 1572.

2 Pool Quay ; but this is no longer so : the canal and the railways
have put an end to its navigation above Shrewsbury. — Ed.

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THE SEVERN. 17d

but possibly traceable to Bar, Baroedd, Welsh for ire,
fury, wrath, trouble) comes up as far as Gloucester.
According to William of Malmesbury, the Saxon name
of the Bore was Higre ; another name is Eagre^ pos-
sibly a corruption of Higre. Nennius, a British writer
of the seventh cei>tury, gives a florid account of the
Bore. From various sources I gather the following
interesting facts : — The Bore is a tidal phenomenon at
the estuaries of several rivehs. When a river expands
gradually towards a very wide mouth and is subject to
high tides, the spring flood-tide drives an immense
volume of water from the sea into the river, the water
accumulates in the estuary more rapidly than it can
flow up into the river, and thus there is formed a
watery ridge stretching across the estuary and rushing
towards the river with great violence and much noise.
The Bores of the Severn and Wye arise through a con-
figuration of the Severn estuary, or, as it is called
without much reason, the Bristol Channel. The spring-
tide at Chepstow rises, according to a modern authority,
to a height of 46 ft. The rocks at Aust, on the southern
side of the Channel, and those at Beachley Point,
protrude into the Severn and deflect the tide, and
compel it to flow with increased velocity up the Wye.
The numerous horse-shoe bends retard its progress and
raise its water in a heap, thus accounting for the high
tidal wave at Chepstow. The Severn Bore varies in
height with the lunar phase, and also with the width
of the river, running at Newnham as a wave 6 ft. high
and on occasions much higher. Its elevation is also
raised when the south-west wind is blowing in the
direction of the Channel currents, and may be succeeded
by a second and third bore. There is an interesting
experience of the Bore recorded in the National Review
for January 1891, in an article called "A Winter
Cruise on the Severn Sea."

A word about this phenomenon in other part« of
Britain and elsewhere. There are tidal waves, or
Bores, of the Trent, Sol way and other British rivers,

N 2

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180 THE SEVERlir.

besides the Severn and Wye. Elsewhere, of the Seine,
Garonne, Elbe, and Weser ; and amongst others more
celebrated are the Bores of the Amazon, Brahma Putra,
which rises to 15 ft, the Indus and the Ganges, in the
Hoogly branch of which the Bore travels seventy miles in
four hours, and often appears suddenly as a liquid wall
over 7 ft. high, while the Bore of Tsien Tang, passing
Hang-choo-foo, is 30 ft. high and very dangerous.

If you look at the Ordhance Map (scale 1 in. to the
mile) you will find that from its source down to an
imaginary line across the river or estuary, just below
the place where the Taff and Ely fall in, on the Welsh
side of the Severn, there are no less than one hundred
and fourteen feeders, each upwards of a mile long ; some
ten of these are rivers of more or less volume, viz.,
Clywedog, Fyrnwy, Tern, Teme, Avon, Wye, Usk,
Kumney, Taff and Ely. The Perry is omitted, for,
though once a river, it is now a straightish artificial
drain, but still an important outlet of water for a large
tract of land between West Felton on the south and
Ellesmere on the north, in which are several meres.
This whilom river empties its waters into the Severn
still.

The subject of the navigation of the Severn is a large
one, and time will not permit of my dealing with it ;
but I may mention that there is a little book called
Worcestershire in the Nineteenth Century, which was
published in 1852 and is well worthy of perusal. It
contains a most interesting account of the battles which
the dwellers in, and the riparian owners of, the Severn
valley fought for, and against, efforts to improve the
navigation of this river during the first half of this
century, by means of locks and dredging works and
operations of enormous expense, apart from the heavy
expenditure in appeals to Government and Parliament.
No doubt the second half of this century will furnish
a still greater record of change and expenditure.

As a fishing river I must say a few words about the
Severn. Prior to the Reformation fish was a most

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THE SKVERN. 181

important article of food, and fresh-water fish probably
was in far greater demand then than now, except as
regards sahnon. Fisheries were, therefore, of prime
importance. William of Malmesbury, writing in the
beginning of the twelfth century, says, no river had so
prolific a fishery as the Severn. It has long been
famous for its salmon. Lewis, whom I have already
quoted, says it is justly celebrated for its lampreys,
that dish once fatal to a royal gourmand. A dish of
this fish used to be sent by the city of Gloucester to
the King and a lamprey pie to the Prince of Wales ; and
it is recorded that an llarl of Chester once sent King
John a single lamprey, who, in return, sent him a good
palfrey. This fish, which closely resembles the eel, has
two maxillary teeth, mandibular ones in a semi-circular
ridge, and serrated ones on the tongue. The lamprey
adheres to its victim and then eats into its substance.
I am told that it is a rich and rather unappetizing fish.
Besides salmon and lampreys, I read that pike, or jack,
the ** PickereF* of the quotation I am going to give you,
and a number of other fish too well known to trouble
you with, including carp, prosper, or are at legist found,
in this river. Carp, as you are no doubt aware, is a
pond-fish, and as well as pike are not indigenous as
regards the river. In Butler's Chronicles (anno 1524)
we read : —

** Tiirkies, Carps, Hoppes, Picarel and beere
Came into England all in one year."

Sturgeon have also been caught in the river near
Shrewsbury.

The value of the fish caught in the Severn for the
year 1891, I think, was about £25,000, and the financial
statement of the Board of Conservators of the Severn
Fishery District for the period between 1st January and
30th October 1896 last, shows receipts from licenses,
etc., amounting to between £1,400 and £1,500. So
much for the river from a practical point of view.

Let us now try and picture to ourselves the river in

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182 THE SEVERN.

the days (roughly, some 2,000 years ago) prior to and
during the Roman occupation of Britain. Was the
river then like what it is now ? Without doubt it was
not. For the most part nou\ the winding course and
deep channel of the river are well defined, with well-
drained and cultivated lands on either side ; cornfields
and sound rich pastures, dry woodlands and hay
meadows, almost touch the pebbles at the water s edge.
Then, and for probably some centuries later, there were
miles upon miles of forest with swamps, and vast ex-
panses of land intermittently covered with water.
Wild fowl, birds of prey and beasts of the chase, some
now extinct in Britain, were doubtless plentiful, and
some of them objects of constant vigilance on the part
of the valley-dwellers. The dreary grandeur of those
vast stretches of water and watery land must have
been great indeed, and the long graceful boat of to-day
would have been a poor friend to the Silurian and the
Ordovician when hunting and fishing, or tending their
flocks and herds, and protecting them from floods and
other dangers, and in the eventime herding them within
the fences about the wattled huts in which our fore-
fathers dwelt ; they would have been sorely at fault
without the hollowed canoe, or the hide-covered coracle,
which latter could carry its owner over the breast of
the waters, and be carried by him over the dry land
with ease. Coracles are still used on the Severn, the
Fyrnwy, the Wye, and the Dee. Let me quote here a
short passage from Eyton s Antiquities of Shropshire,
a reliable and learned work : —

*' Where the counties of Salop, Stafford and Worcester con-
verge, there was once a vast region of forest, The Severn was
in one place a land-locked stream, in another a series of rivulets
strugghng on. Its fits of wintry and swollen fury, like the
human passions, re-acted upon themselves, for the giant oak,
which to-day was torn from its banks, plunged in the torrent,
lay on the morrow athwart the subsiding stream, an additional
element of its future bondage."

This region was known to the Britons as ** Coed *\ or

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THR SEVEKN. 183

Forest, and it Included what were afterwards the
separate forests of Morf, Kinver, and Wyre. It was
at least eight miles long, and probably eight miles
wide. Ejton adds that' in this district we meet with a
memento of every nation that has figured in English,
or what I would rather call British, history — Briton,
Roman, Saxon, Dane, and Norman. There can be no
doubt that the river has been changing, or modifying,
its course ever since it first welled up from the breast
of Pumlumon and sought the open sea. Evidence is
always accumulating of its habit of cutting out on one
side and silting up on the other. A singular instance
of this tendency to cut and silt up, and the change of
local names it may bring about, hits, according to the
Rev. C. H. Drinkwater, taken place. He is of opinion
that in the immediate neighbourhood of Shrewsbury a
considerable crook or bend of the river has been lost
since the fourteenth century. Previous to the year
1406 it took an eccentric course, forming two semi-
islands: one, the largest, called **Coton Island" and the
other the town of Shrewsbury, called by the Welsh in
ancient times Llys Pengwem, and in the present day
yr Ymwythyg, ** the delightful "; and in one of the old
Welsh Poems " the white town in the bosom of the
wood". But now the curves are simplified by the
river taking a straighter course and forming but one
semi-island. Thus, what is now " Coton Hill " was,
according to Mr. Drinkwater, prior to 1406, "Coton
Island", and at the battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403, the
bridges of this island were fortified for the King.

Below the town of Shrewsbury, between Cressage,
{,€., Christ's Oak, and Build was, the bends are numerous,
though in ancient times, probably, there were but two.
From Welsh Pool to the junction of the Fyrnwy, em-
bankments were formed some miles long by the inhabi-
tants about the end of the last century, and have been
the means of reclaiming thousands of acres of very
valuable meadow land.

I have given some idea, I hope, of the river, though

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184 THE SEVERN.

only in broad outline, but there is one part of its
historical associations to which I have only once
alluded. I must therefore add just a few words about
the battles that the river has seen, or which have been
fought very nearly in its presence. In the Red Book
of Hergest, to which I have already referred, we find it
recorded in a poem : —

" Cadwallawn the illustrious encamped
On Digoll Mynnydd Seven months.
And seven battles daily. "^

There is a slight poetical license taken here, no
doubt, but the bards were better at poetry than figures.
Digoll Mynnydd is now known as the " Long Moun-
tain", and it parts the Severn Valley from that of the
Rea. Further on we read : —

" Cadwallawn encamped upon Hafren."

This battle, or cycle of battles, was fought between
Cadwallawn and Edwin of Northumbria, and is re-
corded in the Tinads as one of the three discolourations
of the Severn occasioned by the blood of the slain.
High up, near the source of the river, the men of
Powys (or Arwystli) fought the men of Gwynedd,
probably about the sixth century. Lower down, either
near Caersws, an old Roman station between Llanidloes
and Newtown, or upon the Breiddin range of hills,
Caradoc the Silurian chief (the Caractacus of the
Romans) fought his last battle for hearth and home in
Wales against Ostorius the Roman General, and was
defeated. The Ordovices (the '*Gwyr Bro Ordevig"
of Eliezer Williams) must have many a time fought
valiantly along the banks of the river against the
Silures (the "Gwyr Essyllwg" of the same author),
and other tribes from more distant countries. Coming
to more modern times, there are the battles and
skirmishes of Owen Glyndwr, from Pumlumon down-
wards ; the battle of Shrewsbury, already referred to,
the taking of Bridgenorth, and the battles of Worcester

^ I.e.y fought seven battles daily.

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THE SEVERN. 185

and Tewkesbury. All these centuries of intermittent
warfare bear witness to the extraordinary amount of
history, recorded and unrecorded, which has been made
on or near the banks of the Severn ; and when you
recollect its position under the protection of the frown-
ing hills of Wales, and the lush verdure and beauty of
the river valley spread before the eyes of Roman,
Dane, Saxon, and Norman, enough is indicated to
show what valuable materials for an epic the associa-
tions of the Severn would provide.
It has been said that : —

*' One fine summer morning three wells of water burst forth
from Plynlimmon to run a race, not to Liverpool or Birmingham,
ok* any other thirsty home of the Philistines, but to the sea, the
blue 86a ; so down, down they sped over the slopes of the
mountain ; but the Severn and the Wye were so charmed with
this Paradise of Wales that they dawdled listening to the birds
of Powys, while the Rheidol, more in earnest, like some of the
people on her banks, listened to no voice but the harsh music
of her own cataracts. The result was that the Uheidol reached
the water three weeks before the others/*

That is Prof. Rhys's version of one of the legends of
the Severn ; and at least two other versions, which,
however, I will not trouble you with, contain the
central idea of the legendary history of King Lear and
his daughters, viz., a king who has three daughters to
whom he gives his kingdom. The most important
legend of the Severn is certainly the Sabrina legend,
and the oldest written account of this comes from the
facile pen of Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his Histoma
Britonum, which must have been written prior to the
year 1145. The source of this book has not yet been
satisfactorily traced. The Brut-y-Tywysogiony which
also contains the legend, is now found to be of later
date. The legend is shortly as follows : —

Brutus, the mythical King of all Britain, left three
sons, Locrine, Albanact and Cambyr, to whom he
respectively left Lloegyr (England), Albania (Scotland),
and Cambria (Wales). Locrine, being attacked by

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186 THK SEVEIJN.

Humber, the King of the Huns, fought the invader
Avith the aid of Corineus, successfully, and put Humber
to rout, wlio fled towards the river and was drowned
therein. On account of which, says Geoffrey, the river
has since borne that King s name. After his victory,
Locrine bestowed the plunder upon his men, except
that he reserved to himself the gold and silver which
he found in the enemy's ships, and three virgins of
admirable beauty, whereof one was the daughter of the
King of Germany, whom with the other two Humber
had forcibly brought away after ruining their country.
Her name was Estrildis, and her beauty was such as is
bard to be matched ; no ivory, or new-fallen snow or
lily, says the eloquent GeoflFrey, could exceed the white-
ness of her skin. Of course Locrine falls a victim to
the charms of his captive, but as the course of true love
never did run smooth, dijficulties soon arose. For,
prior to Locrine having found his German treasure-
trove, he had agreed to marry Gwendolen, the daughter
of Corineus, the Duke* of Cornwall. The infatuated
lover fell, love overcame duty, and as there were no
well-arranged Courts of Justice in those primitive days
to try a breach-of-promise case and assess appropriate
damages, war was threatened by the irate father of
Gwendolen, and Locrine had to marry the lady whom
he had ceased to love. In course of time there was
born to Locrine and Estrildis a beautiful daughter,
and she was called Sabren. Corineus being dead, and
Gwendolen being slighted by her unfaithful husband,
she, ** nursing her wrath to keep it warm", waited till
her son Madan approached manhood, and then,
gathering an army in Cornwall, she and her son marched
into the kingdom of Locrine. A great battle ensued,
and Locrine was killed. Then jealousy, hate, and
revenge had their fill. Gwendolen caused Estrildis
and Sabren to be thrown into the river, now called
Severn, and published an edict through all Britain that
the river should bear the damsels name, hoping by
this to perpetuate her memory, and by that the infamy

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7HENEW YOP^f

iPUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LPNOX AMD
TILOCN FOUNOATlONa

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THK SEVERN. 187

of Locrine. So that, adds Geoffrey, to this day the
river is called Sabrin, which by corruption of names
is in another language '* Sabrina".

The illustration which is herewith given, is a re-
production of a photograph which I took in 1896, and
shows the spot where, according to tradition, the
murders of the frail Estrildis and the innocent and
beautiful Sabrina were committed. It is a lovely spot,
and its charm is enhanced by the knowledge of the fact
that, on a lofty hill above the river there stand the
remains of an ancient castle of the Lords of Cedewen,
called the " Ciistle of the Maiden's Meadow", Castell
Dolforwyn".

There is a touching pathos in this legend. It is a
tragedy full of human nature, and I cannot help think-
ing that Shakespeare must have failed to come across
the complete legend, otherwise we should now possess
a noble companion to ** King Lear" and *' Cymbeline".
No doubt Shakespeare derived the principal plots of
these plays from Holinshed's Chronicles, and in the
EnglLsh chronicles the legend is given in a mutilated
form, and without mention of the beautiful Sabrin.

It is true that a play called '* Locrine" was ascribed
to Shakespeare, and Tonson published an edition of
this play in 1734, calling it ** The Tragedy of Locrine,
the eldest son of King Brutus, by Mr. Wm. Shakes-
peare". This play was probably written by George
Peele, who was born in 1558. It is a poor and unsatis-
factory production.

But in the same year that Peele was born there was
also born William Warner, the author of a poetical
history of Britain, which he called Albion's England,
It is a ponderous work, written in trivial verse; it
begins with Noah and ends with Elizabeth, and the
Sabrina legend is incorporated in it, but hopelessly
vulgarised.

There is a poet, however, whom I think all Welshmen
and men of the Severn country should not forget to
honour : I mean Michael Drayton. He was born in

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188 THE SEVERN.

1563, at Harsh u 11, or Hartshill, in the parish of Ather-
stone, Warwickshire, near the river Anker, in praise of
which he afterwards wrote a sonnet. He died Dec. 23rd,
1631, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He is
believed to have been the friend or acquaintance of
Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, Selden, and other men of
the first eminence. The work that brings him within
the scope of my subject is his Poly-Olbtoriy a topo-
graphical poem of immense ingenuity and considerable
length — *' a stupendous work", as Isaac Disraeli admir-
ingly called it. Charles Lamb, thinking of the Poly-
Olhion, said of Drayton : ** He has not left a rivulet so
narrow that it may not be stepped over without
honourable mention, and has associated hills and
streams with life and passion beyond the dreams of old
mythology". Somewhere about the last decade of the
sixteenth century there dwelt in London, no doubt in
one of those glorious old black-and-white timber houses
with their florid and protuberant fascias, a Welshman,
who was His Majesty's goldsmith, and whose name was
John Williams. We find that he was " a lover of his
country as of all ancient and noble things" — to use
Michael Drayton's words in his third Preface, addressed
* to my friends the Cambro-Britons". Doubtless, over
their good fare and tankards of wine, Dra3rton and
Williams conversed with merry wit and warm hearts
about the legendary history of Wales ; and Williams,
with national pride and feeling, told of the mountains,
valleys and streams of his native land, till Drayton,
full of poetic inspiration, gradually fixed in his mind
the main ideas of his great work. I do not hesitate to
say that the Poly-Olhion could never have been written
with the spirit and extraordinary local knowledge that
it displays had not our worthy countryman, Williams,
given the impulse and local colouring that inspired
Drayton to write it.

I should not have more than mentioned this poem
but for the fact that out of the first eighteen books, no
less than seven (Books IV to XI) were taken up with a

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THE SEVKRN. 189

vivid description of Wales and her history — and in
these books the Severn plays an important part. It is
Book IV to which I call particular attention, for it is
to my mind the epic, albeit a fanciful one, of our river.
It forms, with just 100 lines of the fifth book, a com-
plete poem, and this is the plot : — England and Wales
contend as to which of them Lundy Isle belongs to.
Each country is represented by a nymph, and leave
having been obtained from ** Mighty Neptune", the
question is to be decided by the means of a trial of
musical skill, over which Sabrina — the Severu River-
Queen — is to preside. The poem proceeds to give a
vivid description of the gathering of the nymphs of all
the streams of England and Wales, and many are the
lines of felicitous description and spirited flow.

Hosts of English water-nymphs, beautifully decked,
approach the eastern side of Severn. Then approach
the nymphs of the streams of Wales, decked with
pearls from Conwy and moss from " The Virgin s
Well" (St. Winifreds at Holy- well, in Flintshire).
The contest is begun by the nymphs of Wales. They
sing of Arthur, their "most renoundd Knight". Hardly
do the British nymphs end when the English nymphs
begin. They sing in praise of Germany, and then of
Englishmen and their victories ; but at last, when the
contest appears to be getting too prolix, the mountains
take the matter up rather effectually by spreading
clouds and mists to the confusion of the disputants,
and the strife is put an end to by Sabrina intimating
that she will give her decision the next day, which
she does in very solemn state, and in a very diplomatic
fashion.

Amongst the many other poets who have touched
upon the Sabrina legend, John Milton demands a word.
In his immortal " Comus" he incorporates the most
dainty and fanciful picture of Sabrina, and endues
her with the sweetest and tenderest characteristics,
and with healing powers, as the protectress of all
damsels, and their helper in distress. Swinburne thus

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190 TtiE 8EVEKK.

exquisitely alludes to Milton's use of the Severn
legend : —

" Yet Milton *8 sacred feet have lingered there,
His lips have made august the fabulous air,
His hands have touched and made the wild weeds fair."

Time will not allow of my recounting Shakespeare's
references to the river, and Spenser s treatment of its
legend ; and I can but mention the names of John
Taylor, the water-poet, of Churchyard, the Shrewsbury
poet, an^l John Dyer, the author of " The Fleece". Each
of these loved and sang of the Severn. But it was
reserved to a much greater poet than these to write a
really noble poem based upon this legend of Sabrina.
I refer, of course, to Swinburne's tragedy of *' Locrine".
It is essentially a reading and not an acting play. It
has some pathetic and lovely scenes. The characters
of Gwendolen and Sabrina stand out finely ; the others
are somewhat colourless, at least to my mind, and the
action of the play has little or no impetuous necessity,
and therefore seems to drag a little. These criticisms
notwithstanding, *' Locrine" is worthy of great praise,
and should appeal with peculiar force to men of the
Severn country.

The legend still awaits adequate dramatic treatment.
The brevity and subtlety of a Shakespeare and the
passion of a Webster are required for the task. With
higher and wider education in Wales, I trust we may
not hope in vain for a truly Celtic and adequate treat-
ment of the fine legend of our noble and beloved river.

I will now treat of the derivation of the words
*' Severn" and " Hafren", which latter is the Brythonic
name to-day, and of quite eight hundred years ago, of
the same river. The source of the word ** Severn" is by
no means ascertained ; all that we actually know is that
the name is a Celtic and not an English one. I pro-
pose, in the most concise way I can, to give : — Firstly,
some examples of the derivations that have been sug-
gested by various writers ; and, secondly, some facts

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THK seVeHM. 191

and a theory in favour of a somewhat different deriva-
tion of both names.

I content myself with three illustrations of the sug-
gested derivations of the name ** Severn" which 1 have
met with. The first I take from Mr. Edward Hamer's
** Parochial Account of Llanidloes'', in The Collections,
Historical and Archceologicaly relating to Montgomery-
shire, printed for the Powysland Club. Mr. Hamer
says that the *' Severn" is a corruption of Sabrina,
the Latinised form of the Old Welsh name Hafren —
" the Summer-flowing". Unfortunately for this partial
derivation, there is now no doubt that the letter '*h"
was not used initially for some five centuries after the
Romans had left Britain ; and another defect of this
suggestion is that it does not tell us from whence
" Hafren" came : it only gives its apparent meaning
according to the Welsh of to-day, and you will observe
that it gives no reasons for " Severn" being a corrup-
tion of " Sabrina", instead of a corruption of a local
Celtic name. The next suggestion is by Mr. Fenton,
and is quoted by Mr. Hamer from the Archceologia
Cambrensis, 1853. It occurs in the explanation of
names of Pembrokeshire rivers, and the passage is as
follows :

"SYVYKNWY, t.e., SY-FYKN-WY, from Sy, that is, circling;
Efym, spreading; and Gwy, water; the circling, spreading
river. From the same root, ' Sy\ is derived the name of the
river Severn and that of its tributary, * Fyrnwy', a river of
similar size until its junction, and which flows by Meifod in
Montgomeryshire.*'

Although this quofaition may be very pertinent as
regards the name " Fyrnwy", it is not very helpful as
regards '* Severn" or ** Hafren".

In the Origines Celticae of Dr. Edwin Guest, late
Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and
an eminent Celtic scholar, I find the last of the three
examples with which I shall trouble you. Dr. Guest
says:—

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192

THE SEVERN.

" There is little doubt that the Severn was the western
boundary of the Belgic kingdom of Cunobeb'n, and that it is
identical with the Irish word ' Sabhrann', a boundary. The
Eomans, when they conquered the island, appeared to have
adopted the Belgic name, and so called the river ' Sabrina', and
the Welsh to have accommodated the Belgic name to the
genius of their own language, and to have given the river its
present Welsh name, * Hafren\*'

And he adds in a note : —

"The river Lee, near Cork, was in ancient times called
"Sabhrann", probably because it 8epai*ated the two Irish tribes
whose boundaries met in that neighbourhood."

Now I offer three criticisms on that suggestion, and
one is that it presupposes either that the Brythona
had no name for their river prior to the Roman occupa-
tion of Britain, or that they deliberately sacrificed such
name in favour of that given by their enemy; secondly,
that in those unsettled times there could have been
nothing so ephemeral as a boundary. In those times,
or at least in the pre-Roman period, the two sections
in Britain of the Celtic race were, if not a wandering,
at least a spreading people, and, therefore, '* the
boundary" as a permanent river name is highly im-
probable. The third criticism is contained in the fact
that I can find no word that has even a kindred mean-
ing in the Welsh of to-day having any resemblance to
** Sabhrann". Let us see whether, in the countries
whence the Celts came, the river names in ancient
times show any family likeness to the name of
'' Severn".

The following are a number of ancient river names
given in Robert Ferguson's most interesting little
work, The River Names of Europe : —

Sevre (2)

]

Save

> France.

h^evron

Sabis

Belgium.

Savus

Germany.

Seva

Savran(ka)
Savena
Sevan

Russia.
Poland.
Italy.

Armenia (a
lake).

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THE SEVERf^. 193

Giraldus Cambrensis gives the following : —

Samarius (Mod. Saraar) \ t i ^
Saverennus (Mod. Bandoii) ) ^^®*^"^

In an atlas by Jean Blaeu, published at Amsterdam
in 1670, these river-names appear on the Continent
opposite the shores of Britain : — Sambre, Sauener,
Rhennus, Samar()(brina), Sa varus. And in a work
by Oliver Mathews (1616) the name of the river
Severn is once spelt " Seavron". Here we have the
ancient position of the letter ** r ", as in " Sabrin", etc.

According to Professor Khys in his Celtic Bi^itain, at
the time of the Roman invasion, the Severn country on
both sides of the river from its source to the junction of
the Teme, in Shropshire, was Brythonic. It was the
country of the Ordovices, and the Severn country on
the right, or eastern side of the river, down to the
Channel (by the Mendip Hills) was also Brythonic;
but on the west, below the junction of the Teme, to the
Channel, it was Goidelic, and principally the country
of the valorous Silures. Now these Brythons and
Goidels (that is, Britons and Gauls) were not only one
race, but at one time one people, and at the period
I speak of were two groups, or branches, of the Celtic
race, which had spread over Britain and Ireland from
the continent of Europe, travelling probably from the
East. The Goidels coming Jirst and the Brythons
afterwards, the latter replacing to a great extent the
former in what are now England and Wales, the Goidels
and their more or less direct descendants now remaining
only in the Isle of Man, in Ireland, and in the high-
lands of Scotland. Professor Rhys, in the first map of
his Celtic Britain^ prepared to show the disposition of
the Goidels and Brythons over our island, gives a great
preponderance of Brythons in what is now England;
and, as regards the Severn country on the east of the
river, he only allots a small tract of country to the
Belgae, who were probably Goidels. I call your par-
ticular attention to this, because of the suggested

VOL. XXX. o

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194 THE SEVERK.

derivation by Dr. Guest of the name Severn from the
Gaelic or Irish word, Sahhrann. It would seem that
at the time I refer to, the Goidels, though in evidence
in Wales, as represented by the Silures in the south
and the people inhabiting what is now Flintshire,
Denbighshire, Carnarvonshire, and part of Merioneth-
shire, were gradually being expelled or absorbed by the
Brythonic branch of the Celtic race. And I find that
in the seventh chapter of the Welsh Land Commission
Report the Brythonic Celts are credited with all the
Severn country down to considerably below Gloucester
on both sides of the river, in the first century B.c.
Now it would also seem that the language of the
Brythons of the period of the Roman occupation was
the language of the Brythons of Gaul, that is, the
Gauls of the Continent. Of course, dialects, or varia-
tions, had been developed, peculiar in some respects no
doubt to our islands. It is noticeable that while place-
names in England and Wales have undergone great and
varied changes, and show as regards England but little
of their earlier or Celtic form, the larger rivers have
retained not only the elements but the form of their
original Celtic names, and in those elements we find,
according to several authorities, roots from that Eastern
tongue, Sanscrit, the mother of much that is Gaelic,
Brythonic, and Anglo-Saxon. The elements of Celtic
names like Avon, Uerwent, Don, Rea, Severn, Thames,
and Usk, are all represented on the continent of Europe,
from whence our forefathers came, and it is undeniable
that in our river-names we have the very oldest forms ;
in fact, they have a primaeval character to this day.
Isajic Taylor says, in Words and Place-names^ that the
Celtic words which appear in river-names may be
divided into two classes, one substantial, the other
adjectival. The first class consists of ancient words,
which simply mean water or river, as, for instance,
" Avon". The second class comprise words meaning
rough, gentle, smooth, swift, yellow, black, muddy, and
clear, and these of both classes are found in a large

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THE SEVERN.

195

proportion of European river-names. At this point it
will be well to give some of the root or related words
in the Zend, Sanscrit, Welsh, and Irish languages that
probably supply the materials for the two names of our
river.

Severn. Hafren.
Boot and related words.

Sanscrit
Zend .

Welsh .

Per

Dr. O. W. Pughe's

Wd8h

Dictionary,

Irish

Per

O'Reilly's

Irish

Dictionary,

Su^ sava^ ambu, ambhas, water.

Samdy year.

Hima^ Bumroer.

Hahy 8.ni. that coraes or passes abruptly.

Uaf, that is apt to ovei-spread, or to spread out ;
fulness, summer.

Uafn^ s.m. that extends out, or is a flat, a still
place, a haven.

RJie^ s. a swift motion, a run ; a. fleet, speedy,
active.

Hhean, that runs, a streamlet.

Hhin^ that runs through, or pervades ; a chan-
nel which carries off" lesser waters.

Bann, s.m. a verse, song, poem, stanza, a poet,
division.

Sabhrann, s.m. a mearing, boundary.

Sa7n ) s. sun, summer ; sab^ sabh^ the sun,

iSamh ) etc.

Sartif pleasant, still, calm, tranquil.

I must now mention a few of the changes that have
taken place in the use of certain letters in the Celtic
language and its dialects in Britain. In Wales, but
not at least in midland and southein England, s,
initially used, was replaced by H ; and a, both in what
is now England and Wales, was often replaced by E,
while B and single P, or Welsh " ef", often replaced an
earlier M. The Romans also changed M into B. I have
now, I believe, given you the materials, though very
crudely, I fear, for tracing to their source the names of
our river, ** Severn" and ** Hafren", and ere this you
will, I expect, have guessed at the nature of the theory
to which I have referred, and which is that " Severn"
and " Hafren" are variants of the same original name.
and that that name represented either the *' summer

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196 THE SEVERN.

flowing", or possibly the ** spreading and running water",
the " gwy" or " wy" having either been lost or never
more than implied. I have but to add the method of
the changes that must have taken place according to
such theory. The Romans, finding a Celtic name in
use which probably differed but slightly from ** Sabrin",
*'Sevren", or "Samrin", according to their wont gave
it a musical termination, and called it " Sabrina". The
Brythons of a thousand years ago, more or less, repre-
sented by the Welsh of to-day, developed the use of
the letter H initially, and made the river's name
" Hafren", either from a previous Samrin, Sabrin, or
Sevren. The Celtic tribes, and afterwards the mixed
peoples later on to be called the English, all of whom
inhabited the Severn country below (that is, south of),
say Montgomeryshire, according to the bent of their
language or dialect, retained the s, discarded to a great
extent initially by the Welsh, but changed A into e, and
either B or M into v. Thus they modified the old name,
and made it Sevren. There is one point more : the change
in the pronunciation and spelling of the last syllable
of Severn in England. The cause of this change is very
simple. The riii or rhen, or reii (Roman rind), from
KinaSy fluid (Sanskrit), remained in the upper or Mont-
gomeryshire part of the Severn owing to the vitality of
the letter r, or Welsh er ; while in the lower or English
region of the river this letter became mute through
phonetic decay ; the people of the midlands and southern
parts of England having as little respect for the roll ot
an R as they have for the sound of the aspirate H ;
and I have a pertinent illustration. I have already
mentioned a tributary of the Severn — the Tern. Now
we know from one of the Four Ancient Books of Wales
that this river was anciently called the " Tren '. Thus,
according to the theory I have laid before you, Severn
and Hafren are twin-sisters, offspring of the same
parent name, and Celtic in all respects. Whether
'* summer" or '* spreading" water represents the older
form of the first syllable of the word is a very doubtful

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THK SEVKRN. 19/

point. Looking at the ancient character of the river,
and the effect of the Bore in olden times as a great
flooding agent, there is much to be said in favour of a
derivation which takes such character and effect into
account. But, even assuming that the parent name
was Goidelic, and therefore closely akin to the Gaelic of
to-day, we have " Samh", Irish for summ.er, to support
the "summer" derivation, and we know that our river
from near the Breiddin consistently flows south to the
shore of Somersetshire — the " Somer Saetan" of the
Saxons and the " Gwlad yr Haf " of the Welsh. This
Welsh name is, however, thought by Dr. Guest to be a
mistranslation into Welsh of the Saxon name. But it
might be replied that the Saxon name is probably built
up out of Celtic ruins.^

Prior to writing the above paper on the Severn, I
visited several parts of the Severn country, the highest
point being about six miles above Llanidloes ; since
then (in July 1897) I travelled the course of the river
from Llanidloes to the source on Pumlumon. Some
slight account of this part of the river may be of suffi-
cient interest to warrant an addition to my paper.
From Llanidloes the river is the centre of a more or
less narrow valley running approximately east and
west, and at one point of an almost ravine-like
character. Nearly opposite a house called *' Old
Hall", some three miles above Llanidloes, you can
leave the main valley and go up a narrower one to
Bryn, or Craig-y-Llo, "the rock of the calf". Over this
rock the water develops an exceptionally beautiful fall,
with a basin of still dark water at its base, wherein
the trout sleep lulled by tlie music of the cascade
above. This spot is at the top of a charming dingle
where, beneath the shade of many trees, ferns grow
with extraordinary luxuriance and beauty. The main,
or Severn, valley is studded with ferns, and is bounded

1 I am indebted to the Rev. C. H. Drinkwater, M.A., Vicar of
St. George's, Shrewsbury, for some valuable information which has
been utilised in the above Paper. — T. J. D.

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198 THE SEVERN.

Oil either side by hilis which, before reaching Rhyd y
Benwch, increase in height but decrease in steepness
and ruggedness as one proceeds up tlie valley. In
fact, the scenery decreases in objective beauty or
picturesqneness, and increases in calm and simple
grandeur. Instead of rich woodlands, tiny pastures
and tree-clad rocks jutting up in ever- varying form, we
have smooth green sheep-walks and mountains that
rise steadily and impressively, birds and trees alike
getting scarce and more scarce, but light and silence
everywhere ; with here and there, in the valley or some
** cwm" in the mountain side, a homestead, and on the
centre plain and up to the mountain tops, sheep look-
ing like creamy-tinted spots of snow. Here we ex-
change the Byron and Scott-like landscape for the
Wordsworthian one ; we are less objectively interested
but more deeply impressed. We reached Rhyd y
Benwch, with its bare and simple homestead, early in
the day, and could not but admire the small, hardy,
cross-bred cattle, almost the only sign we saw of farm-
life except the shepherd dogs ; and in the evening, as
we returned, the. cows looked charming standing oa
" the milking- patch" being milked according to the old
summer custom. Leaving the road to Cwm Biga ((juery ,
related to Buga^ ** confused noise", or Bugeiliaidd^
" pastoral ") on our right, and then y Fory, one of the
earliest tributaries of yr Hafren, on the left, with the
farm of y Fory in sight, in a " cwm" up Pumlumon
itself, we came to Blaen Hafren farm-house — the
highest (as its name implies) up the course of the
river. Like most mountain farms, it has few signs of
a homestead in the Lowland sense of the term. The
house is small and mean, the buildings rude and
unsightly, low walls do duty for hedges, and no rustic
garden smiles a welcome with its homely flowers. A
pile of peat cut into small, long, brick-like pieces had
been shot down in front of an out-house, through the
door of which we saw two mountain lambs snugly
placed. Higher up on the mountciin we saw a stack

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THE 8KVERN. 199

of peat, roofed over with cuttings from the surface of
the Turbary, and further still the actual cuttings from
which the turf had been taken. We were hospitably
welcomed at the house, and the living-room, with its
old oak dresser and rows of old willow-patterned plates
and dishes, quaint village- ware ornaments, grandfather
clock and oak settles, made an interesting picture.
A peat fire was burning brightly beneath a wide
chimney, down which the light came easily, showing
the delicate peat smoke soaring tremulously up. After
visiting the small but fine fall near the house, well-
known as an illustration in Randall's book about the
Severn, we proceeded up beside the river, taking
photographs here and there. The bed and sides of the
stream, which is here very small, are formed of boulders
and small stones rounded with the constant rush of
water ; and the colours of these are very fine, and are
composed of rich reds and greys, heightened by the
sunlight and the surpassing brilliancy of the water as
it literally dances and tumbles down amid ever-varying
light and shade. The colours of the stones are finely
contrasted with the lush green of the banks, often
varied with pale yellow and red-brown mosses where
springs trickle between and below. Avoiding the soft
and treacherous places, and using the narrow sheep-
tracks wherever practicable, we soon were well above
Blaen Hafren and in the midst of a veritable peat-
moor ; the stream cutting its way through banks of
brown-black peat covered on either side of the cutting
with closely-cropped heather, or "grAg",whinberry,moss,
grass and other variously-tinted herbage ; tiny streams
often swelling the main one, and reaching it occasionally
by subterranean courses, visible here and there through
holes in the peat.

We had now come to the huge peat piles which
really form the general surface of Pumlumon, spotted
occasionally with intensely white angular pieces of
stone, having at a little distance the appearance of
isolated spots of snow. The peat piles are divided and

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200 THK SKVEHN.

re-divided by watercourses, mostly dry at the time
of my visit, the waters of which must travel in winter,
spring, and autumn with mighty and even frantic
force. The effect was altogether desolate, and typical
of the calm after a time of destruction, when waters
would roar "ruining" along. At last we reached the re-
puted source of the Severn. Huge walls of peat rose on
either side. It was a long, bath-like receptacle, formed
out of what is locally called yellow marl. Here the
water had but a slight movement from end to end.
The spot tallied exactly with the description given by
the farmer of Blaen Hafren. A friend, however, ob-
served that water entered at the top end of the recep-
tacle, and so we traced this up some 22 ft., at the end
of which distance we found a small hollow place on our
left hand, some 12 or 14 ins. wide and 8 or 9 ins. high,
the peat bank being above it. My friend was able to
probe with his stick in a slanting direction into and
behind the cavity, and the water evidently flowed from
this direction. I failed to discover any welling-up,
such as is described by Borrow and Hulbert. As the
water in the main course above this spot was absolutely
still, and did not feed the stream coming from the
cavity I have described, it was clear that we had
found the source of the Severn, or, to be more correct,
the spot whence its stream first emerges into the
light of day. The photograph which I took of the
bath-like receptacle, looking towards the place where
the stream first emerges, has been reproduced and
illustrates this paper. Near this spot there is a
slate post upon which is engraved the date " 1865",
and the well-known initials " W. W. W.", and you
there obtain a wide range of view, especially into
Cardiganshire, with Llyn Bugeilin somewhat to the
right, wherein trout abound and have not learned
to shun the fishermen with the subtlety of the trout
of the Lowland streams. A notable thing is the
buoyancy and rush of the air here ; and it was with
a sense of loss of a' vital force that we left the exalted

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THE SKVERN. 201

plain of Pumlumon and breathed the more sluggish
air below.

Through the kindness of Mr. W. Jerome Harrison,
F.G.S., I am able to add a valuable note on the geology
of Pumlumon.

He says : —

"The mountain mass of Plynlimmon owes its altitude partly
to the fact that the strata which compose it form a synolinal
(the beds of rock lyin^ one within the other like a nest of
basins) ; the particles of the rocks being thus closely pressed
together are better able to resist the forces of denudation, and
partly because the Rhayader Pale Slates, which form the base
of the mountain, and the Plynlimmon Grits (hard sandstones
1,000 ft. thick, with bands of quartz-conglomerate), which con-
stitute its upper portion, are both rocks of considerable
hardness.

" These strata all belong to the Upper Silurian Formation,
and in North Wales they are locally known — the lower division
as the Tarannon Shales (the " paste-rock* of Sedgwick), and
the upper (in part, perhaps) as the Denbighshire Grits. At
Plynlimmon the strata are practically unfossiliferous.

" The surface features of the mountain, its rounded and
monotonous outlines, and the boulder-clays and other beds of
loam, sand, and gravel, which lie more or less irregularly over
its slopes up to within 100 ft. of the summit, owe their origin
to the grQat glaciers (an ice-sheet, in fact) which covered Mid-
Wales during the last Glacial Epoch.

*' The impervious boulder-clay holds up the abundant rain-
fall, and its hollows form a damp soil in which the peat mosses
flourish exceedingly. The peat bogs thus formed act like a
sponge, and form a kind of gigantic reservoir of a semi-solid,
semi-liquid nature, which more or less envelopes the whole
mountain, and so stores up the winter rainfall as to provide a
supply for the streams which run in all directions from the
mountain in even the driest summers.

*' The photograph by Mr. T. J. Davies of "The Source of the
Severn" shows distinctly a more or less loose and very porous
Burface covering of loam, etc., including angular stones. Under
this is a bed of " marl" (local name) ; this is a boulder clay, and
lower down the slope it may be of considerable thickness, but
probably at this elevated point its thickness will not exceed a
few feet.

"Thus, on the slopes of Plynlimmon we have an impervious
layer (of boulder clay), which is overlaid by pervious beds, peat

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202 THE SEVERN.

mosses, gravels, angular debris, etc. The pervious surface beds
absorb the rain, and since the water cannot pass down verti-
cally below the surface of the impervious layer, it has to flow
along the junction between the two layers, and so form count-
less little subterranean runlets, which finally unite to form the
surface streams at lower levels. The boulder clay rests upon
the solid strata which form the mass of the mountain, either
the imperfectly-cleaved slates and mud-stones of the Rhayader
Series, or the Plynlimmon Grits.

" As to the origin of the oblong hollow, or * bath^ it is
diflBcult to speak positively. It may be an artificial excavation,
made by shepherds for the benefit of themselves and their
flocks, or it may be due to a " pocket" of sand or loam, which
was originally here present in the boulder clay, and which has
been removed by the rain, the stifier and more tenacious clay
remaining behind.^'

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203

THE POWYS-LAND CLUB.

ANNUAL MEETING, 1897.

The thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Powys-land Club was held
on Monday, December 6th, in the Powys-land Museum, when
there were present the Earl of Powis (President), the Ven.
Archdeacon Thomas, the Eev. Elias Owen and D. Grimaldi
Davis ; Messrs. Charles K Howell, R. E. Jones, Robert Owen,
Thomas Pryce, Pentreheylin, Richard Williams, F.R.Hist.S.,
and T. Simpson Jones, hon. secretary. Letters regretting
inability to attend were received from the Rev. Thomas Owen,
Messrs. J. Marshall Dugdale, W. F. Addie, M. P. Jones, and
Matthew Powell.

The Hon. Secretary read the Annual Report, which was as
follows : —

" Part I of the Thirtieth Volume of the Collections will be in the
hands of members, we hope, before the end of the month. It contains
a very full and complete ** History of Tregynon'^, by Mr. Scott-Owen,
who has spared no pains to do justice to his subject ; but some Welsh
poems, with their translation, have somewhat retarded the issue, while
at the same time they make the history more exhaustive ; an article
on Folk- Lore by Mr. Elias Owen, and a paper on the Severn, the river
of Powys-land, by Mr. Thomas J. Davies, a new contributor and a
Montgomeryshire man. Mr. Richard Williams h£is contributed a
further quota of the valuable Montgomeryshire Records^ which will be
issued with it, but are paged for separate binding. For the second
part of the volume, there are available, a paper ou '* Rhayader and its
Antiquities'*, by Mr. S. W. Williams, F.S.A. ; some *' Lettei-s of the
Pryces of Newtown Hall", and promised a memoir to illustrate the
" Family History of the Lloyds of Stockton" ; a continuation of the
articles on Montgomeryshire Canals and Railways, contributed by the
late Mr. Abraham Howell — and carried on by his son — and a history
of the parish of Llandysilio. Beyond these we have at present little
more to depend upon. The Committee, therefore, propose that there
shall be a breathing time of a year before another volume is published,
and they hope that in the interval further material will come to hand.
Meml)ers are reminded that the history of more than half the parishes
in the county has not yet been written. Meanwhile, instead of a
volume of the Collections^ they propose that a volume of the MorU-

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204 ANNUAL MEETING.

gomeryshire Records shall be issued. At the last Annual Meeting it
was decided ** That the Chairman and Secretary of the Powys-land
Club shall communicate with the Chairman of the Shropshire
Archaeological Society, with a view to the union of the Shropshire
Society with the Powys-land Club". Some correspondence has
accordingly taken place upon the subject ; but it does. not seem to be
at the present moment quite ripe for adoption. Both the Societies
have their distinctly local character, and very few members of either
Society possess the publications of the other, so that there would be
little continuity of interest in the series as they are. If, however, the
Powys-land Club should decide to close the Collections with the
current volume, and to wind up its special publications with the
Records, and with a thorough Index to the whole, then the two
Societies might be combined, and might issue a journal in common,
starting a new series with such an arrangement, to their mutual
advantage. Mention hay been made here more than once of the
desirableness of copying the parochial registers, and a specimen has
been submitted to the members in this room. Although no other
case has been undertaken in Montgomeryshire, we gladly t%ke the
opportunity of drawing attention to a Society which is being formed
in Shropshire for the copying and printing of parochial registers. The
inaugural meeting is to be held in Shrewsbury on the 20th of this
month, and we desire to congratulate the county on so very useful a
movement. In conclusion, we regret to have to announce an increas-
ing gap in our list of members owing to death, which during the last
twelve mouths has carried away the Rev. the Hon. John R Orlando
Bridgeman, rector of Weston-under-Lyzard, who, through his wife,
was closely connected with Montgomeryshire ; Prebendary Matthews,
rector of Llandysilio ; and the Rev. Thomas Owen Sturkey, rector of
Kirk-Andrew-on-Eden ; and Mrs. Pugh-Lovell of Llanerchudol, who,
by long residence, by large interests, and by family connection, was
endeared to the county. The new members are : Mrs. Lloyd- Vemey,
who takes up the membership of her late husband, and Mr. A. W.
Pryce-Jones, The Forest, Kerry.'*

The Pebsident, in moving the adoption of the Report, said he
thought that part of the Keport which referred to the fact that
the parochial history of half the parishes in the county had not
yet been written, was one of great importance, and to call the
Montgomeryshire Collections complete without them would be
quite absurd. One of the most important parishes which had
not yet had its history written was Montgomery, and they
could not too strongly urge that fact upon the members.
Perhaps there were some amongst them that day who would be
prepared to undertake the work of writing the history of their
parishes, if not already written. The history of the parish of
Llangynog would also bo very interesting, as it was nearly two'

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ANNUAL MEETING. 205

hundred years ago one of the most important mining centres
in the county. He could not say that he appreciated that part
of the Report which referred to a suggestion to close the
Montgomeryshire Collectioiis. He hoped that it would be a very
long time before they saw that done. He trusted also that the
time would come when the history of not one single parish in
the whole county, or one of any importance at all events, would
bfj left unchronicled. He did not mean by that that he should
like to see the Collections dragging on simply for the history of
of a parish which possessed no ancient history, but he thought
that in that border county of Wales it was hardly possible for
any hole or comer of the county not to have some history worth
recording. Alluding to the last part of the Report, the noble
President said it was with deep regret that they recorded the
death of the Hon. Orlando Bridgeman, Prebendary Matthews,
and Mrs. Pugh-Lovell, who had recently passed away; there
were few people in the town who did not remember her with
the utmost attachment^ and in her it was felt that Welshpool
had lost a kind friend. The Hon. Orlando Bridgeman was not
known in Montgomeryshire quite so much, but his wife, he
believed, was more closely connected with it. Mr. Bridgeman
was the owner of some important property at Mainstone, and
they were all looking forward to welcoming his son as a resi-
dent in that neighbourhood. He was glad to see that Mrs.
Lloyd- Verney showed her interest in the Society by taking up
the membership of her late husband. In conclusion, he took
that opportunity of apologising to the members for his inability
to attend the last Annual Meeting : it was not any want of
interest in the objects of the Society which kept him away, and
he thought it hardly necessary for him to mention that. He
was extremely glad to learn that another portion of the Records
was going to be issued, especially at this moment, when there
was a certjiin amount of difficulty in getting people to write the
history of the remaining parishes of the county. They heartily
thanked all those kind members who had contributed papers
during the past year, and they were all looking forward to the
pleasure of reading them.

The Ven. Archdeacon Thomas said he had special pleasure
in seconding the adoption of the Report, for a good many
reasons. First of all, he was glad to find that the members
disagreed to a certain extent with the proposal which seemed to
present itself with a good deal of force to some of the members
of the Committee, but the contributions towards the Collections
came in rather slowly, and it was extremely difficult to get
anyone to write the parochial history of some of the parishes.

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20(5 ANNUAL MEETING.

A majonty of the members, however, came to the conclusion
that it would be a great misfortune to close the Collections
when so many parishes had not had their history recorded ; in
fact, the number of parishes whose history was not written was
greater than that of the parishes whose history had been
written. Some had been promised, and among them was the
history of Newtown. They must not press Mr. Williams too
much for not yet having done it, for he was one of the most
reliable members of their Club. He was always with them^
and was taking a special part in the editing of their most
valuable Montgomeryshire Records, and anyone who took so
much interest and so much labour upon himself, deserved at
their hands — and he was sure Mr. Williams would receive it —
Jheir most thorough sympathy and good wishes for health and
strength to carry on the work, and then to give them the
history of Newtown. He must, however, come down on other
members of the Club. They had something like twenty-eight
parishes with their history not written ; they had a number of
members who had the leisure and the knowledge, as well as
the opportunity ; but when one pressed the matter upon them,
the answer was that somebody else was the proper one to
undertake the work. In his despair he asked that somebody
else, and that someone else would not do it ; and the result was
they were in the same position as before. He hoped, however,
that what had been said would be a fillip to them all round, and
that they should see in that county what no other county in
the kingdom would be able to show by the time they had com-
pleted thoroughly their field of parochial histories — in addition
to and beyond the very valuable and varied information which
was to be found within the pages of their publication. When
speaking of the history of parishes they did not mean, of course,
only parishes with an ancient history; they meant parishes
with any history at all, and he questioned whether there was a
parish without one. There might be no records available at
the moment, but when once they made a beginning it was
astonishing how much important information would present
itself, and the parishes which appeared at first sight to be most
unpromising would be found to have a special interest of their
own. In fact, every parish presented difierent aspects of
history. The noble President had referred to the history of
Llangynog, which had both an ancient and a modern history.
He believed the foundation of its church went back to one of
the very early missionary saints of this country, who founded
his church on the side of a great Roman road. They knew
that in former times it had ^<Aen an enormous source of income

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ANNUAL MEETING. 207

to Powis Castle, and he should be glad if his lordship could
find materials in the archives of the Castle for a contribution
to the history of Llangynog. He must also say that there was
plenty of history surrounding the parish of Montgomery, and
if the noble President could bring his influence to bear upon
some member to take it in hand, it would be found to be a
grand subject, and one extremely worth the most careful and
elaborate treatment. There was a great amount of material
scattered about the volumes of the Association already, but
what they wanted was a consecutive story of that great place.
Its mediaeval history was one of the great attractions of Mont-
gomery, and its connection with one of our most spiritual and
quaint poets of three centuries ago who bore the name of the
President — George Herbert — was another interesting feature.
There were other parishes, too, the history of which must be
written, and his friend, Mr. Charles Howell, who had promised
them all sorts of good things, and who had the leisure and
lived in the parish, might well undertake the work of writing
the history of the parish of Berriew. The history of Llandy-
silio was in hand, he was glad to say ; but he did hope that
before long some member or other would come to the assistance
of the despairing editor, as there was a great deal to be done.
It was because there was so much waiting to be done, and so
little actually supplied, that they proposed there should be
a " breathing time'' of a year for the Collections, and during
the interval the Records should be completed. After that the
Collections would again be taken in hand, and the parochial
history of the remaining parishes completed. That was, he
thought, the great object they should aim at, which had been
held up to the Powys-land Club from its beginning, and which,
to a certain extent, had been carried out, though, as he said
before, a great deal remained to bo done. With regard to the
proposed combination with the Shropshire Archaeological
Society, about which a motion was passed at the last meeting,
that the Chairman and Secretary should communicate with the
Chairman and Secretary of the Shropshire Association, the
Archdeacon said the idea did not seem to be quite ripe for
carrying out, and, indeed; he must say for himself, that he
should be sorry — though he had been obliged, rather, to plead
for it — to see the winding up of their own Transactions, and
their being swallowed up in common with Shropshire. If they
were to combine with any society at all, Shropshire and Mont-
gomeryshire stood side by side, though, as a member of the
Cambrian Archaeological Society, he might say the mother-
society would be glad to take in her Montgomeryshire daughter.

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208 ANNUAL MEETING.

However that might be, a little communication passed between
them and Shropshire, and a summary had been put into the Re-
port, There were few members who were members of the Shrop-
shire and Powys-land Societies,and those who did not possess the
volumes of both societies would feel very much at sea on receiving
future volumes, were they to combine. The continuity would
at once cease. He was reading last week a book which had
recently come out, by the Rev. W. K. Riland Bedford, entitled
The Blazon of Episcopacy y and he should rather like to mention
something connected with the immediate neighbourhood.
Among the bishops of Hereford was mentioned *' John Trefnant,
or Trevenant, 1389-1404. Buried in the Cathedral "; his coat-
of-arms was given as ^' or, within a bordure engrailed azure,
three lions' heads erased, gules*\ Now these arms, which were
taken^ he supposed, from the monument at Hereford, were the
arms of Alo ap Rhiwallon, twelfth in descent from Jestyn ap
Gwrgant, Lord of Glamorgan, and himself the head of the
first of the five Plebeian tribes who lived at Trefnant in
Caereinion, so that both by his name and his armorial bearings
they could claim him as one of their Montgomeryshire worthies,
and he had much pleasure in presenting his name to Mr.
Richard Williams. In that same book he, of course, looked for
the names of bishops connected with Montgomeryshire, and he
found Robert Morgan of Fronfraith, Llandyssil, given there
with two sets of arms — *' Robert Morgan (Bishop of Bangor),
1666-1673. Buried in Cathedral." His arms were given by
Cole as gules ((W*, Browne Willis), a lion rampant, argent (sable,
B. W). There was, therefore, a difierence in the tincture,
which implied a slight difiererence in the genealogy or branch
of the family ; and they, as Montgomeryshire antiquarians,
ought to be able to solve the doubt, inasmuch as the bishop
was the third son of Richard Morgan of Fronfraith, who repre-
sented the borough of Montgomery in the Parliament of 1592.
Mr. Bedford, the author, inclined to Cole, but he (the speaker)
should like to see the matter made clear. There was nothing
else for him to say, beyond mentioning that the history of the
parish of Tregynon would be contained in the current part,
and it was full and interesting. Mr. Scott Owen had taken
the greatest pains and care to make it complete, and although
members had to wait rather long, and perhaps grumbled a
little, he thought they got their full value when the publication
did come out.

The Rev. Elias Owen supported the adoption of the report.
Twelve months ago, he said, he was much disinclined to go in
for winding up the Club. He found that the history of twenty-

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ANNUAL MEETING. 209

two parishes had been written, and that twenty-eight remained
to be written ; and it did seera rather hard that they should
think of winding up the Club when it had not yet done its
work. It would be most difficult to resuscitate the publication
when once it ceased to exist. Therefore, it would be better to
go on with it, dragging itself along as it did, than to stop it
altogether ; for if they did that they would be left in the same
state as the Gamhrian Journal and the other isolated publica-
tions they had — all extremely i^ood, but very difficult to get at
best. He was, therefore, immensely pleased to think they were
going to continue the work. He only wished he were twenty
years younger, and then he could make many promises, which,
perhaps, he should fulfil. His heart, however, was in the work,
and he would be sorry to see the Collections coming to an end.
He was glad to find that the Archdeacon, who was sometimes
very much down with regard to these publications, was so
hopeful in his speech, and he (the speaker) believed they would
succeed in finishing the whole work. He should not live to
see the finish, but never mind. They all ought to take a great
pleasure in the county which gave them birth, and in carrying
on the work for the pleasure of those they would some day
leave behind.

Mr. R. E. JoNKS expressed the opinion that the Society had
hardly begun its work. There was a vast amount of material
in the Record Office and in the British Museum which they
might print as " Rec(^)r(ls'\

Mr. Williams did not like the idea of a " breathing time".
It was very difficult, when they took a breathing time or period of
rest in the life of any publication, to resuscitate it. He pointed
out that it was fully intended to carry on the Gdmhrian Register
and other publications, but it was never done. For that reason
he disliked the idea of a breathing time. Surely they could
find sufficient material for the publication of another volume ?
He had himself quite three hundred pages of material which
could be got ready without much trouble. He undertook to
get them ready in the same way as he had done the one hundred
and twenty-eight pages he had finished. Although he had been
very pressed and unable to devote of late the attention he
should like to have devoted, he could assure them that from
that time henceforth he should be able to go on with the work
with increased energy. He should be very sorry if any want
of effort on his part in any way helped to break up the Club,
or compelled it to take a breathing time.

The report was then unanimously adopted.

VOL. XXX. P

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210 ANNUAL MEETING.

The Hon. Skcrbtary, in presenting the financial statement,
said he was sorry to say the amount in hand at the end of the
year was not what it was at the beginning, but he found the
funds depended very much on the amount of work which was
issued to the members, who, if they did not get their numbers
pretty regularly, would not send their subscription. Mr. Owen
had said something about the Club dragging on, while others
had spoken about a breathing time. Perhaps they did not all
bear in mind the fact that the Club had not yet reached its
thirty-first birthday, and that they were already putting in
hand the thirtieth volume. It was therefore evident that
hitherto not much breathing time had been allowed, and for
some years yet he did not think they would require any. The
funds in hand at the end of the year were £106 13s. 2c?., as
against £138 8s 5d. last year. The subscriptions and arrears
collected during the year amounted to £53 10s., which, he was
sorry to say, was a very small sum, but he had not pressed the
members, because he thought it would be better to write and
ask for subscriptions when the next part was issued, when
he hoped to get about £50 at least. They now had in the
bank £100, while the amount of subscriptions due to them was
between £70 and £80.

On the motion of Mr. Charles Howell, seconded by Mr.
Pryce, a vote of thanks was passed to the President who, in
his reply, reminded the members that the issue of the
Collections and the payment of subscriptions depended mainly
on their own efforts in supplying material for the publication.

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RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

By S. W. WILLIAMS, F.S.A.

The town and parish of Rhayader as a place of some
importance probably dates from the foundation of the
castle by Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd in the years
1177-78, as it is at this period that we get the first
authentic notice of the town and castle, in the
Chronicles of the Princes. This chronicle was pro-
bably written and kept at the Abbey of Strata
Florida, in Cardiganshire. It was published by the
Cambrian Archapological Association in 1863, with a
translation by the late Aneurin Owen, Esq.

We may, however, assume that even before that
period a town, and probably something in the nature
of a small fortalice, or castle, existed here.

The town, with its four streets intersecting each
other at right angles, bears some resemblance to a
Roman camp ; it is still possible to trace the lines of
the original earthwork, probably stockaded with timber,
that surrounded the town, and dating back to a period
long anterior to the Roman invasion.

Its geographical j)Osition, commanding the approaches
from Cardiganshire, and situated on a commanding
elevation above the banks of the river Wye, with fertile
land in the immediate vicinity, in the midst of dense
and impenetrable forests, which covered the country
down to comparatively modern times, must have com-
mended itself as a tribal settlement at a very early
period.

The recent discovery of a flint arrowhead close to
the town proves that in the far-off and prehistoric
period of Neolithic man, some settlement was estab-
lished here.

VOL. XXX. Q

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212 RHAYADER AND ITS ANTlQUITlfiS.

There are tumuli and burial-places in the immediate
vicinity, of the earliest races of mankind who lived
here thousands of years ago, and have left no record of
any kind behind them, except their stone and bronze
implements and weapons, which have from time to
time been discovered in this district.

Some of the burial-places have been swept away by
the march of modern improvements, and the remains
they contained scattered to the winds ; there is one
very fine tumulus still extant upon Cefn Cido farm
about one and a-half miles from the town, which has
been the burial-place of some person of importance,
and this one, I believe, has never been opened or dis-
turbed ; there is another on the summit of the hill
above Dderw, which has been opened. At Caban Coch,
where the great dam of the Birmingham water-
works is being constructed, an important find of bronze
weapons was made a few years ago, and fortunately
they are now in safe keeping, and have been lately
illustrated and described in the pages of the Archceologia
Camhrensis.

On all the hills in the vicinity of the town are traces
of ancient dwellings, fortifications, and grave-mounds.
At Gro Bach, in Llanwrthwl, there is a very perfect
specimen of the remains of an ancient dwelling of the
class called ** Cytiau", and the rude stone mortar still
stands outside the hut door in which primaBval man
pounded and prepared his food.

In the ** Domen, LlansantfFraid", situate in the
village of Cwmdauddwr, we have probably an early
fortification guarding the ford over the Wye.

The Roman invasion of Britain, and its occupation
as part of the Roman Empire for nearly four hundred
years, must to some extent have civilised the races that
the Romans found in occupation of the country, for
even then the race was not homogeneous. Wave after
wave of successive conquerera had passed over the
land before the Roman came. Palaeolithic and Neolithic
man, with his weapons of flint and stone, was conquered

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kHAYADEK AND ITS ANTIQQITIES. 2 13

and subdued by a race that probably originated in
Central Asia, and brought with them the art of work-
ing in metal, and some of the domestic animals that we
now possess ; they assimilated and intermarried with
the conquered races, and acquired a certain amount of
civilisation, were able to throw up important camps
and places of defence throughout the country, and
offered for a long period a stubborn resistance to the
Roman invaders, who called the inhabitants of this
district ''Silures"; they were a small, round-headed
race, with dark hair and eyes ; we have many examples
of them left in these parts, but we find them more
plentifully in the hill country of Glamorgan, where the
pure Silurian has retained his special characteristics
to this day, and has not mingled with Saxon, Dane, or
Norman : in Radnorshire we have a very mixed race.

Of the Romans we have traces in the important
camp and station that they established at the (^wm in
the parish of Llanyre, near Llandrindod, overhanging
the banks of the river Ithon, and the Roman road to
the mines in Cardiganshire, which they worked, must
have passed through Rhayader ; and though no Roman
remains have been found here, there is always the
possibility of something of the kind turning up that
would prove that here there was a small settlement, if
not of the Romans themselves, at any rate of the
Romano-British people who, at the end of the Roman
occupation of Britain were left masters ol our island
when the legions were withdrawn.

There are in my possession one perfect and two
imperfect specimens of the quern or hand-mill used by
the inhabitants of this district. Mr. Thos. P. Evans,
builder, of Rhayader, has also a specimen ; these pro-
bably .date back to Romano-British times, and indicate
that corn growing was practised then. Earlier man
subsisted on roots, acorns, nuts, and the spoils of the
chase. The querns indicate the practice of agriculture,
and a state of things similar to what we may still see
in India, w^here the quern is still in use : two women

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214 RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

seated on the ground turn the handle alternately,
feeding the corn to the mill with the other hand, illus-
trating the Bible expression : "two women shall be
grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, the other
left" With the departure of the Roman legions the
whole country became the prey of barbarians who
swooped down from the northern parts of our island,
and, together with Norsemen, Danes, and Saxons,
invaded the country : the civilisation of Rome was
swept away, and a period of complete anarchy and bar-
barism set in. Of these dark times no records remain,
except faint tradition, and references in a few classic
authors, and the doubtful stories of monastic historians.
Christianity, which had spread to a large extent
among the Romano-British population at a very early
period, managed to struggle on in Wales, when all
England was Pagan ; and we have in our immediate
vicinity, in the parish of St. Harmon, a church dedi-
cated to St. Garmon or Germanus, who engaged in a
battle with his followers against the heathen Picts and
Saxons in the year 420, and defeated them ; and there
is a tradition still extant that the battle was fought
between Pantydwr and Tylwch, in a valley called
** Cwm Saeson", the Saxon's Valley, where there were
many upright stones some years ago, and a few are
still left, commemorating some great event, and where
there is still a tumulus containing human remains,
whilst several bronze weapons have been found in the
immediate vicinity.

The neighbourhood of Llanarmon-in-Ial, in Denbigh-
shire, has also been mentioned as the scene of the battle
between St. Garmon and the Pagans; but we may
venture to claim that it took place in this district, more
especially so, as it is recorded that St. Garmon visited
Vortigern, and denounced the crimes he had committed ;
and it is said by Camden that Vortigern terminated his
life among the fastnesses contiguous to the town of
Rhayader ; and it is also supposed that he was the
chief ruler of all the country situated between the

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RHAYADER AND ITS ANTTQXnTIE55l. 215

Severn and the Wye. The story of St. Garmon, who
was a missionary bishop, is most interesting. He came
to this country from France, probably about the year
420 ; and, according to some authorities the first
Saxon invasion took place in 450 ; but as to dates at
this early period there is no certainty, and we may
assume that it was sometime about the middle of the
fifth century of the Christian era, on his second visit,
that St. Garmon, or Germanus, may have visited
Rhayader and the surrounding district.

On the dissolution of the Roman power in Great
Britain, at the close of the fourth century, the govern-
ments reverted to those Reguli or chieftains who were
descended from the ancient sovereigns. They had been
but little interfered with by the Romans, who, with a
policy peculiar to themselves, permitted the kingly
office to the full extent of its ancient authority to
remain in many of the British provinces ; thus Wales
continued to be governed by several chieftains or petty
kings until the ninth century. We find in the Chronicles
of the Princes, before referred to, that in 843 ** Rhodri
Mawr", or *' Roderick the Great", " began to reign
over the Welsh, and was necessitated to abandon the
Welsh residing in England, who became Saxons".
Thus, after nearly five centuries of continual struggle be-
tween Briton, Saxon and Dane, the Britons, or Welsh,
had by this time come to consider Offa's Dyke (which,
it is said, was built by Offa, King of the Mercians,
about the end of the eighth century), as the boundary
between themselves and the Saxons : a boundary, how-
ever, which was constantly overpassed by both sides,
and the chronicles of those early Princes of Wales
record constant wars between the Welsh and the Saxon
invaders.

Rhodri Mawr (who by marriage and inheritance
had succeeded to the sovereignty of all Wales),
in 873 instituted a new arrangement in the govern-
ment of the country ; he divided his kingdom into
three principalities : Gwynedd, or North Wales, he

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216 RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

conferred on his son Anarawd, Powys he gave to his
son Mervyn, Cadell, his eldest son, had Dyfed, or
South Wales ; he was to pay tribute to the King ot
England, and to receive tribute from the other two.
In 876-7 Rhodri was slain fighting against the Saxons,
and the country then became divided up into the three
principalities of Gwynedd, or North Wales, Powys, and
Dyfed, or South Wales ; each division was governed
by a prince, who was distinguished by wearing a
golden diadem on his helmet, namely, a broad head-
band indented upwards, set and wrought with precious
stones.

The river Wye was the boundary between Powys
and South Wales at this period, and the country that
lay between the Severn and Wye, though ruled by
an independent chieftain, formed part of the princi-
pality of Powys ; therefore the town and parish ot
Rhayader, up to the time of Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd,
who was the last ruling Prince of South Wales who
claimed that dignity, was in Powysland.

We will now endeavour to show now it was that Prince
Rhys ap Gruffydd managed to annex the town and
parish of Rhayader. In the Chronicles of the Princes
we find that Rhys ap Gruffydd's life and actions are
very fully related ; and this is not surprising, for we
must remember that it was at Strata Florida Abbey,
which he founded in 1164, that these Chronicles are
believed to have been compiled and written, and they
cease at his death in 1197.

Rhys ap Gruffydd is described in that Chronicle as
the " bravest, the wisest, the most generous, and the
most illustrious of the Welsh princes." He was a great
warrior and a wise statesman, and during his long life
he led a most adventurous career. He was constantly
at war with the Normans ; he succeeded, however, in
maintaining his position as Prince or chieftain of
South Wales ; and, after a long and arduous struggle
against all the power of England, became ultimately
the intimate friend and ally of King Henry II,

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RHAYADER AND ITS AKTIQUITIES. 217

who created him his Chief Justice over all South
Wales.

It was in 1176, when Rhys was at the summit of
of his power, that all South Wales was at peace, and
he ruled over the entire country as the King's Chief
Justice ; and, in addition, he claimed from the native
chieftains their allegiance as the representative of the
old Royal line of South Wales ; and though by the
English he was only styled " The Lord Rhys", among
his countrymen he was " Prince Rhys ap Grufydd",
the rightful wearer of the golden diadem, one of the
three crowned Princes of Wales. Then it was that he
made a great feast at Christmas at his castle of Car-
digan, and held a grand eisteddfod, the first that is
recorded in the Welsh annals ; and, in the words of an
old historian : —

** Thither came many strangers which were honorably
received, and worthily entertained, so that no man departed
discontented. And among deeds of arms and other shows,
Rhys caused all the poets of Wales, which are makers of songs
and recorders of gentlemen's pedigrees and arms, to come
thither, and provided chairs for them to be set in his hall,
where they should dispute together, to try their cunning and
gift in their faculties ; when great rewards and rich gifts were
appointed for the overcomers. Among them they of North
Wales won the prize of poetry ; and among the musicians
Rhys's own household-men, and in particular the son of Eytyn
the Crythor,^ were accounted the best.*^

This account of Prince Rhys's eisteddfod was written
by Guttyn Owain, herald, bard, and historian, who
lived at Strata Florida, and was buried there in 1480.

While Rhys entertained his numerous visitors, the
quarrels, strifes, and jealousies of the rival factions of
Normans and Welsh in South Wales were for the time
laid aside ; but no sooner was the period of feasting
over than they again broke out, and a party of Normans
lay in wait on the hills of Cwmdauddwr for Rhys ap

^ Crythor is derived from ** Cnvth'\ an iustrunient something
like a modem violin.

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218 RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

Gruffydd 8 two sons-in-law, Morgan ap Meredydd,^ and
Eineon Clyd, Lord of Elfael (brother of Cadwallon ap
Madoc, Lord of Maelienydd),^ who were returning
from the great gathering at Cardigan to their homes in
Breconshire and Radnorshire. It is supposed that the
assassins lay in wait in the woods of Llawrdderw, near
the town of Rhayader, and that the two chieftains
were murdered at the place where now stands erect a
huge stone, having upon it a rudely-carved cross.
This base assassination, it is probable, was committed
at the instigation of Reginald de Mortimer, who at that
time was at feud with the Lords of Maelienydd and
Elfael, and had already seized upon a considerable
slice of their territory ; the Mortimers eventually dis-
possessed their descendants entirely of their estates in
Radnorshire.

Rhys ap Gruffydd, immediately after the murder ot
his sons-in-law, invaded the territory of Mortimer, and
ravaged his lands in Maelienydd (Cantreff Maelienydd
belonged to the principality of Powys, and contained
the commots of Ceri, Swydd y gro, Rhiew-yr-allt and
Glyn leithon) ; and with a view to protect his eastern
frontier, and to overawe the encroaching Normans,
set about building a castle at Rhayader, overhanging
the banks of the river Wye, a little above the place
where the bridge crosses the river. The superstructure
has entirely disappeared ; all that remains is the deep
fosse, cut in the solid rock, which must have been a
work of great labour, before the introduction of gun-
powder for blasting. There is a curious story in
connection with the castle of Rhayader in Giraldus
Cambrensis' Itinerary through Wales (Sir R. C. Hoare's
edition, vol. i, f. 5) ; it states that : —

*' At Elfael, in the Church of Glascwm (a small village in a
mountainous and retired situation between Builth in Brecon-

^ Morgan ap Meredydd was a Breconshire chieftain, whose territory
probably lay in the present " Hundred of Builth".
2 Cadwallon ap Madoc founded Abbey Cwm Hir a.d. 1143.

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RHAYADEK AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 219

shire and Kington in Herefordshire), is a portable bell endowed
with great virtues, called " Bangu/ and said to have belonged
to St. David. A certain woman secretly conveyed this bell to
her husband (who was confined in the castle of Rhaiadrgwy,
near to Gwarthrenion, which Rhys,* son of Grufiydd, had
lately built), for the purpose of his deliverance. The keepers
of the castle not only refused to liberate him for this consi-
deration, but seized and detained the bell ; and on the same
night by divine vengeance, the whole town, with the exception
of the wall on which the bell hung, was consumed by fire."

Sir R. C. Hoare (i6., p. 22) adds that :—

" The bangii was a handbell, kept in all Welsh churches
before the Reformation, which the clerk or sexton took to the
houses of the deceased on the day of the funeral. When the
procession began a psalm was sung. The bellman then sounded
his bell in a solemn manner for some time, till another psalm
was concluded, and he again sounded it at intervals till the
funeral arrived at the church.^'

The ** bangu" was at this period deemed sacred,
which accounts for the superstitious attributes given
it by Gi raid us.

The Rev. Jonathan Williams, in his History oj
Radn(y>\shire, written in the early part of the present
century, says : —

" Of the superstructure of Rhayader Castle no vestige at
present remains, but the original foundation may be traced.
The only entrance which preserves a communication with the
castle is a narrow space in the north-east, between two deep
trenches cut out of an exceedingly hard and solid rock ; the
one of which leads to the river towards the north, the other
inclines more to the east. Along the south foundation runs a
fosse about 16 ft. deep and 12 ft. wide, until it communicates
with a steep precipice, at the summit of which flows a spring
of excellent water, formerly used by the garrison, and the
bottom of which precipice is level with the bed of the river.
These three trenches form the three sides of a quadrangle. At
the bottom of the precipice was a barrow or tommen, surrounded
by a moat, where was erected the castle mill.

This appears to have stood where the old factory or
gas-works now stands.

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220 RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

" The other tommeu, or mount on the opposite bank of the
river, in a straight line from the castle, and excavated at top
near to the bridge, is, in the opinion of some, nothing more
than a mound of earth thrown up by the Republican forces of
the Protectorate to demolish the walls of the castle.^

" The tower or citadel stood in a direct line between the
castle and the prison, now a Presbyterian meeting-house, over-
looking the river, and guarding its ford. The adjacent mount
still retains the name of Tower Hill."

The Rev. Jonathan Williams also adds that he
remembers many large stones on the site, and seeing
the foundations of walls.

The castle was probably largely constructed of
timber, which was very plentiful in this district at
that time, most of the low- lying land being covered
with dense forest. The approach to the castle from
the ford crossing the river Wye would be along an
ancient road parallel to what is now called Water
Lane; the gateway with its flanking towers, which
subsequently were used as a prison, stood on the site
now occupied by the Independent Chapel. The iron
bars which secured the windows, and the iron rings
and chains to which the prisoners were bound,
were in existence when the Rev. Jonathan Williams
wrote his Htstmy. The Hall or Court of Judicature,
he says, was situated at Penyporth, on the bank which
overlooks the bridge over the Wye ; this was probably
the hall of the castle, and stood in the inner ward, the
keep occupying the deeply-entrenched position over-
hanging the river Wye.

In 1178 a war broke out between Rhys ap Gruffydd
and the sons of Cynan, a son of Owain Gwynedd,
Prince of North Wales. They laid siege to his new
castle of Rhayader, but failed to take it, and very
shortly after Rhys encountered them in the field, and

1 It is much more likely an earthwork thrown up at the siege of
the castle by Prince Llewellyn ap lorwerth. The castle was pro-
bably nothing more than a ruin in the time of the wars between
Charles I and his Parliament.— S. W. W.

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RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 221

put them to shameful flight. It is not unlikely that
this dispute between Owain Gwynedd's grandsons and
Rhys arose through the latter building Rhayader
Castle just over the border in part of the territory
claimed by them, and on the eastern bank of the river
Wye. The Wye was the boundary at that point
between South Wales and Powys. Cantreff Arwystli
(including the Cwmwd of Gwrthrynion) was claimed
by the Princes of Gwynedd, but it had been granted,
together with Cantreff Elfael, to Rhys by King Henry
in 1171; and no doubt Rhys wished to secure his rights
as chief lord, by erecting a fortress that would com-
mand the approaches into Arwystli and Elfael, and in
the principal town of that district.

It was at Rhayader, in 1184, that Rhysap Gruffydd
confirmed his previous grants to the Abbey of Strata
Florida; and in the words of his charter, "in the presence
of many of our army in the Church of St. Bridget at
Rhayader," he confirms his previous donations, and
sets forth in considerable detail the boundaries of the
large estates he granted to the monastery which he
had founded twenty years previously.

There are two churches at Rhayader ; one, the parish
church of Llansaintffraid Cwmdeuddwr, dedicated to
St. Bridget, is situated on the west bank of the river
Wye ; the other, the parish church, standing on the
east bank, dedicated to St. Clement, is within the
boundary of what was probably some portion of the
outworks of the castle. It is a chapelry of the parish
of Nantmel, and may have been originally the castle
chapel.

It is therefore evident that it was in the church of
St. Bridget of Cwmdeuddwr (the church of St. Bridget
stands in an extensive graveyard, and there is ample
space of level ground around the church for the
assembly of a large number of people, this is not the
case with the church of St. Clement ; the space there is,
and always must have been, very confined), that Rhys
ap Gruffydd confirmed his charter to the Abbey of

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222 RHAYADKR AND ITS ANTIQUITIKS.

Strata Florida. The church is situated in that portion
of the parish which was not granted to the abbey, but
reserved as a demesne for the castle of Rhayader, and
therefore may well have been called " The Church of
St. Bridget at Rhayader," it being in the immediate
vicinity of the town and castle, the outworks of which
were probably carried near the present church, where
there is an artificial mound called *' Domen Llansaint-
ffraid", commanding the ford through the river just
below the rapids, which, before the construction of the
bridge, was the original access to the town on that
side.

It was here that Rhys with his three sons, Gruffydd,
Rhys, and Meredydd, in the presence of his civil and
military oflBcers, and of some of the chieftains of the
district, and a numerous assemblage of his retainers, *
gave to the Abbey of Strata Florida a large portion ot
those extensive possessions which they and their suc-
cessors enjoyed until the dissolution of the monasteries
in the time of Henry VIII.

We hear no more of the castle of Rhayader in the
chronicles until 1194, when a conspiracy broke out
amongst the sons of Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd, and
during the internecine war that then raged, the castle
was taken and destroyed by fire ; Prince Rhys was
taken prisoner by his unnatural sons, and confined tor
some time in the castle of Nevern in Pembrokeshire ;
one of his sons called Howel Sais, or the Saxon (so
called because he had for some years resided at the
Court of the King of England), by stratagem released
his father from captivity ; and, his friends and ret^ainers
rallying round him, the old prince very soon ousted his
rebellious sons from the castles and possessions they had
obtained by their treachery, and he ordered Rhayader
Castle to be re-built and re-garrisoned. It was after-
wards occupied by the two sons of Cadwallon ap Madoc,
the Chief Lord of Cantref Maelienydd, who further
fortified it. In the ensuing year, 1195, Roger Mortimer,
of Wigmore, came with an army into Maelienydd and

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kHAVADlitt AND ITS aNtiquitiks. i223

dispossessed the sons of Cadwallon ap Madoc of
Rhayader Castle.

Rhys ap Gruffydd beiug once more settled at
Dinevwr Castle, which was his principal residence,
appears to have determined to regain all the territories
he had lost during these years of domestic quarrel and
warfare. In 1196 he levied a large army, attacked
Carmarthen, took the castle and burned the town,
carrying away considerable booty. He then proceeded
to recover from Roger Mortimer the territory he had
wrested from the sons of Cadwallon ap Madoc in
Maelienydd and Elfael ; marched into Radnorshire,
recovered his castle of Rhayader, and took Colwyn
Castle, which is situated in the parish of Llansaintffraid
in Elvael, where some remains of it can yet be traced ;
the site is now occupied by a farm-house and buildings
called " The Forest Farm", Colwyn, situated on the
side of the turnpike road from Builth to Kington ; from
thence he advanced as far as New Radnor, took the castle
and burnt the town. Roger de Mortimer, of Wigmore,
and Hugh de Saye, of Richard's Castle, marched to
relieve Radnor. Rhys determined not to remain in
the castle to await their assault, but fought a pitched
battle in the open plain near the town, where he
totally defeated his enemies, put them to flight, and
pursued them until darkness set in.

After this success he proceeded to Pain's Castle in
Elfael, and laid siege to it ; and before the owner,
William de Breos, could return from South Wales,
where lie had taken St. Clear's Castle from Howel
Sais, Rhys had obtained possession of it. WilUam de
Breos and the South Wales prince came to terms,
and Pain's Castle was restored to him, he giving his
daughter Maud in marriage to Grufydd, the eldest son
of Prince Rhys. Very shortly after this (on the 24th
April, 1197), Rhys ap Grufydd died of the plague
which was then raging throughout north-western
Europe.

Sun^ounding the castle of Rhayader was a tract of

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224 BHAYADEB AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

land on the weRtern bank of the river Wye, which
Rhys ap Grufydd had allotted to the use of the castle,
and which he had reserved out of his grant of the
Grange of Cwmdauddwr to the Abbey of Strata
Florida.

This tract of land, which is bounded by the rivers
Wye and Elan as far as the Caethon brook, and then
is bounded by that brook to the summit of the hill
above Rhydoldog, from thence the boundary crosses
the hills to a large white stone called " Maen-gwyn-y-
gweddau", the boundary then passes through the
centre of the great rock of Carreg-y-gwalch, past the
Vergwm farm-house and down the Nantsarn brook to
the Wye ; this boundary line comprises what is now
called the Manor of Cantref Maelienydd, in Cwmdau-
ddwr ; it was originally no part of Cantref Maelienydd,
but on the death of Rhys ap Grufydd the castle of
Rhayader and this tract of land passed into the pos-
session of the sons of Cadwallon ap Madoc, who were
the lords of Cantref Maelienydd, and the descendants
of Rhys ap Gruffydd appear to have abandoned all
claim to the castle and parish of Rhayader.

It is quite clear, I think, that Rhayader parish was
originally carved out of the parish of Nantmel (it is
now ecclesiastically a chapelry of Nantmel, and the
living is in the gift of the Vicar of Nantmel) ; and this
was probably done when Prince Rhys took possession
of it in 1177 ; at that time it appears to have been
claimed by the Princes of Gwynedd as part of Cantref
Arwystli, and the sons of Owen Gwynedd, as we have
already mentioned, in 1178 attempted to dispossess
the South Wales prince, but failed. We can easily
imagine that the battle between the contending forces
raged upon the hills above the town near Gellilas, and
there are some tumuli there which may contain the
bones of the slain. Subsequently Wenwynwyn, Prince
of Powys, invaded the district, with a view, doubtless,
to reassert his right as the paramount lord, and claim-
ing it as part of Powys-land.

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feHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 225

But there was at this time a powerful Norman
baron, Mortimer of Wigmore, who, relying upon a
grant of William Rufus, claimed to be overlord of all
Cantref Maelienydd and Cantref Elfael, including
therein the town and castle of Rhayader. In ancient
times the lords or earls of " Fferllys", that is the
country lying between the Severn and the Wye, were
also lords of Maelienydd ; much of this great extent ot
valuable and fertile country had passed into Saxon
hands long before the time of William the Conqueror.
The Welsh chiefs appear to have retained possession
of most of Radnorshire, and that part of Montgomery-
shire south of the river Severn now forming the
parishes of Kerry and Mochtre ; and if they admitted
that the great Saxon earls of Shrewsbury were their
overlords, which is very doubtful, they at any rate for
a long series of years reQased to recognise their Norman
successors, the Mortimer^ of Wigmore, as having any
rule or authority in Maelienydd and Elfael.

As Rhayader may be considered the principal town
in Cantref Maelienydd, it will be interesting if we trace
how that territory passed from Welsh into Norman
hands, and how it came to pass that this district
at so early a period became practically a part of England,
and governed by an English noble; and that in the early
part of the fourteenth century (about 1340) we tind
the town and castle of Rhayader solely in the hands of
Roger Mortimer, Earl of Wigmore and Marche, and
that it remained in possession of that family with little
interruption, until the accession of Edward, Duke of
York, to the throne of England, when it became, with
the rest of Cantref Maelienydd, a part of the patri-
monial inheritance of the Crown of these realms ; the
Queen is still Lady of the Manor of Rhayader, and the
chief rents are annually paid to the department of
Woods and Forests, which receives the Crown revenues.

Cantref Maelienydd and Cantref Elfael in 1139 were
in the possession of Madoc ap Idnerth, who was
descended in four generations from Elystan Glodrydd,

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22ti RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUtTlfiS.

the sovereign of the country which orighially compre-
hended all the territory between the rivers Wye and
Severn. These two Cantrefs formed part of the pro-
vince or principality of Powys Wenwynwyn, and
comprised nearly all the county of Radnor and that
part of the county of Montgomery consisting of the
existing parishes of Kerry and Mochtre, as already
mentioned. After the decease of Madoc ap Idnerth, his
territory, in accordance with the Welsh law of gavelkind,
was divided between his sons. Of these, Howel and
Cadwgan came lo a violent end, in a domestic quarrel,
shortly after their father's death : Meredydd, another
son, was slain within a year or two after (1145), by
Hugh, son of Ralph de Mortimer, leaving Cadwallon
ap Madoc lord of MaeUenydd, and Einion Clyd lord
of Elfael

Einion Clyd, as we have already seen, was murdered
on Llawrdderw by the Norman retainers of Mortimer
in 1177.

In 1179, Cadwallon ap Madoc, who founded Abbey
Cwm Hir in 1143, was also slain by the retainers of
Roger, son of Hugh de Mortimer, a« he was returning
home from attendance at Court, and travelling under
a safe-conduct from the King.

Thus every one of the sons of Madoc ap Idnerth
came to his death by violence, and three out of the
five fell by the hands of the Mortimers or their retainers:
a fact which clearly exhibits the hatred and jealousy
that existed between them and the Mortimer family.

Cadwallon ap Madoc married Eva, daughter of
Gruffydd ap Meredydd, Prince of Powys, and had two
if not other sons: (1) Maelgwn and (2) Cadwallon.
The first that is heard of them is their taking posses-
sion of Rhayader Castle, in 1193-4, during the rebellion
of the sons of Prince Rhys ap Grufydd, and the attack
upon the castle by Roger Mortimer in 1195, audits
recovery in 1196 by Rhys ap Grufydd, when he pro-
bably reinstated them therein. Their most important
castle, and where it is supposed they resided, was

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KHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 227

Castle Tynbod, or Dinboeth, in the parish of Llan-
anno. It is not improbable that one brother may have
occupied the castle at Rhayader, and the other Castle
Tynbod.

After the death of Prince Rhys constant feuds broke
out amongst his sons and relations, and the Avhole
country wns in a state of civil war ; it is therefore
probable that the Mortimers, very soon after that event,
again obtained possession of Rhayader and its castle; but
in 1215, when Llewellyn ap Jorwerth, Prince of North
Wales, was at war with King John, he succeeded in
combining together the other Welsh princes and chief-
tains into a general confederation against the English,
and he and his army swept all before them in Rad-
norshire ; he laid siege to the Castle of Rhayader,
which he took by assault and burned to the ground,
and put the whole of Mortimer's garrison to the
sword.

The Rev. Jonathan Williams, in his History of
Radnorshirey says : —

" That on digging the foundations of the new tower of the
church of Rhayader-gwy, erected in the year 1783, a great
number of skeletons were discovered about a foot below the
surface of the ground, arranged side by side in a most regular
and orderly manner, with their respective heads placed in the
same direction, one skeleton only excepted, which was of
immense size, the thigh bone measuring more than one yard
in length. This skeleton was placed in a direction contrary to
all the rest. All the teeth of the skeletons were sound and
whole, and rivalling ivory in whiteness. This discovery gave
rise to much discussion. After many conjectures as to the
time and occasion of this interment, it was at last unanimously
agreed upon that these skeletons were the remains of the
garrison soldiers of the castle, whom Llewellyn ap lorwerth.
Prince of North Wales, had put to the sword, and whom the
inhabitants of the town buried in this methodical manner at
the west end of the ancient church. That individual skeleton
which was of huge size, and placed in a direction contrary to all
the others, was supposed to be that of the commander of the
castle. All these bones were carefully collected and deposited

VOL. XXX. K

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228 uhayadeh and its antiquities.

iu one large grave, opened in the churchyard by order of the
lather of the compiler of this History.^

When the tower was rebuilt in 1887, a large quantity
of fragments of human bones were found under the
foundations ; so we may assume that all the bones
were not then cleared away. At the same time was
discovered the base of the west wall of the ancient
church, which splayed outwards. The present west
wall had been built upon it, therefore originally there
was no tower ; probably there was a bell-turret, con-
taining one or two bells, in the west gable.

Historians are silent whether the castle recovered
itself from the effects of this complete catastrophe, but
it probably was never again garrisoned ; at any rate, we
hear nothing of it in Owen Glendower's rebellion, who
must have passed through Rhayader when he destroyed
Abbey Cwm Hir in 1401 ; and if the castle had then
been of any military importance there would have been
some record of its having been taken at that period ;
neither is there any mention of it at the earlier period
of the wars between Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, the last
Prince of Wales, and King Edward I in 1282.

In the reign of Henry VIII the County Court and
Court of Great Sessions for Radnorshire was held at
Rhayader, and the Rev. Jonathan Williams tells us
(in his History) why it was removed to Presteigne.
He says : —

" A Cardiganshire banditti, composed of disbanded soldiers,
had long concealed themselves in an inaccessible cavern, near
where the DeviFs Bridge now stands. From thence they
sallied ont, imposed contributions on the adjoining country,
and to their depredations sometimes joined the occasional
effusion of human blood. They were distinguished by the name of
"Plant Mat'*, or the children of Mat. Leaving their lurking-
place in the obscurity of the night, and having arrived on the
right bank of the river Wye, they waited their opportunity.

1 This was Mr. William Williams, of The Red Shop, who was then
one of the churchwardens of Rhayader.

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ttHAY.ADEk AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 229

safely concealed in a thick grove of oaks, which grew on an
estate named Dderw, in the parish of Llansaintffraid Cwnidau-
ddwr : where, being informed by their spy that the Judge would
repair at a certain hour on the ensuing morning to the Church
of Ehayader, previous to his entering on the business of the
sessions, they sallied forth, crossed the river at Waun-y-Capel,
met him on Maesbach, fired their pieces, and shot the venerable
man through the heart.

*' During the moments of amazement with which the sudden-
ness of the transaction overwhelmed the attendants, the
villains were able to effect their escape, and returned over the
hills to the cavern. The whole country soon rose against
them ; the murderers were besieged in their rocky den, and
after a desperate resistance taken and executed. After this
it was ordered by Parliament that the Court of Great Session
should be removed to Presteigne, where the County Court was
also henceforward to be holden alternately with New lladnor."

The Rev. Jonathan Willianis does not assij/n a reason
for the shooting of the Judge, but it would seem pro-
bable that one of the gang was to be tried, or had been
tried for some offence, and probably condemned to
death. He says, that " the place for the execution of
convicts was on the north end of the town, near a
house known by the name of Penymaes".

As already mentioned, we hear nothing of Rhayader
or its castle during Owen Glendower's rebellion in
1400, but it is not at all improbable that he passed
through Rhayader on his way to Abbey Cwm Hir.
In the commencement of his raids upon the English,
he took up a strong position at Mynydd Hyddgant,
amidst the fastnesses of Plynlimmon ; and his route to
Abbey Cwm Hir would be down the valley of the
Wye, through Rhayader and over Brynscolva Hill to
the abbey, which he utterly destroyed ; from thence
Owen proceeded to Pilleth, on the eastern side of
Radnor Forest, where he was met by Edmund, Lord
Mortimer of Wigmore, with a strong force of his re-
tainers, and a sanguinary engagement ensued ; the
battle resulted in a complete victory for the Welsh, and
there fell on the English side 1100 men, among whom

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230 RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES.

was slain Lord Mortimer ; his nephew, Sir Edmund
Mortimer, was taken prisoner, and eventually married
one of Glendower's daughters.^ The battle was fought
on the plain under Pilleth House, upon a small area of
level ground ; the space admitted of no manoeuvring ;
and in the close combat that ensued each Welsh arrow
from their short powerful bows must have told with
deadly effect : and it is said that the Welshmen got in
amongst the English men-at-arms, and hamstrung their
horses. The heavy-armoured knights, under such
circumstances, would be at a great disadvantage com-
pared with the light-armed and active Welshmen ;
the English infantry, armed with the heavy, unwieldy
Herefordshire bills, in the close meUe would be in a
great measure useless.

Rhayader is an ancient borough by prescription, and
prior to the passing of the Reform Act the burgesses
who were entitled to vote in the election of a member
of Parliament were elected by the jury sitting at the
Court Leet. In the Rev. Jonathan Williams's Histoiy
are published copies of proceedings at that Court, and
also at the Court Baron, or, as it is therein called, the
** Court of Jury."

It would appear from the first of these documents,
dated 1637, that there was a heriot due to the king of
2,^?. upon the death of a tenant of the Manor, and the
alienation of any premises or messuages therein ; these
payments were abrogated at the time of the inclosure
of the commons in the parish, and the Crown took an
allotment in respect of them, still called the Crown
Land, which was purchased from the Woods and
Forests Department by the late Captain Horatio
James, R.N.

The chief rents are still payable, and are paid in
respect of the ancient freehold messuages within the

* This Sir Edmund Mortimer was the rightful heir to the Crown
of England, but Henry IV detained him in custody at Windsor;
and the Mortimer family only succeeded to the throne in the person
of Edward IV in 1461.

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RHAYADEK AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 231

manor and borough, and are collected by a bailiff, who
is appointed by the Woods and Forests Department.
The total amount of the chief rent, according to the
Roll of the Court held 29th November, 1649, was one
hundred shillings, payable yearly at Michaelmas.

This roll recites that there were two markets every
week, held on Wednesday and Saturday, and four
annual fairs, viz., on the 23rd of November, 26th
July, 15th August, and 16th September. The tolls,
which used to be paid for both markets and fairs, were
purchased from the Crown some years ago, the money
for that purpose being collected by public subscription ;
the markets and fairs are now entirely toll free.

It appears that, until the inclosure of the commons
took place, the neighbouring farmers, who though neither
residents nor occupants within the borough, and con-
sequently not liable to pay suit and service to the
lord of the manor, exercised a custom, which was
usurped as a right, of depasturing their cattle or
sheep upon the commons belonging to the freeholders
of the borough and parish ; and it was not until the
Act of Parliament was obtained and the commons
inclosed, that this usurpation of the rights of the
pei-sons really interested was defeated.

The Rev. Jonathan Williams says that in the western
extremity of Maes-y-dref common there was a most
excellent spring of pure and limpid water, named St.
Mary's Well, or Ffynnon-Fair. He says : " it was
heretofore a custom for the young people of Rhayader,
of both sexes, to resort thither on Sunday evenings,
during the spring and summer seasons, to drink this
salutary beverage, sweetened with sugar"; and, *'that
adjoining to this fountain there stood formerly, previous
to their mutilation, vestiges of Druidical construction,
such as a cromlech, and an elliptical basin chiselled
out of the solid rock, and corresponding with the
description given by Borlase in his Ilistoy^ of Corn-
walir

All this has disappeared since he wrote his History

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232 RHAYADKR AND ITS ANTIQUITIKS.

of Radnorshire : the making of the new Aberystwith
road has cut away the elliptical basin, the water now
trickles down the face of the rock ; the name remains
in the adjoining cottage, still called " Ffynnon-Fair",
and the young people of both sexes have long since
ceased to meet there to drink the water.

Among the old customs that have passed away, the
Rev. Jonathan Williams mentions two which are ot
great interest, and which were doubtless survivals of a
very early period. He says that : —

'' A custom prevailed to a recent period for Divine Service
to be performed in the church of Khayader on Christmas day
yearly, at six o'clock in the morning, on which occasion the
church was completely illuminated. The abuse of this pious
custom, called in the Welsh * Plygain*, caused its abolition'\

He also says that : —

"Another ancient practice was observed in this town till
of late years with rigid tenacity : the attendants on oveiy
funeral procession were wont to carry a small stone or pebble
in their hand, which, on the arrival of the bier at the turn of
the road leading to the church, they threw on a large heap
of stones that had accumulated there by similar means, saying,
* Cam ar dy ben*, ix,, a ' stone on thy head/ This relic, savour-
ing of superstition, though harmless in itself, was declared unfit
to be continued under the light of Christianity*'.

These ancient customs, so recorded by the learned
author of the History oj Radnorshire, are full of interest
to the student of folk-lore ; and the throwing of a stone
at a funeral is doubtless a survival of the period when
the large stone cairns were erected over the dead in
prehistoric times.

During the wars between Charles I and the Parlia-
ment, Rhayader contributed both men and money to
the support of the Royalist cause ; and when eventually
the Parliamentarians had succeeded in dethroning the
King, they held a Court of Inquisition here, by com-
mission, for investigating and confiscating the Royal
domains in this district.

We have no record of any action fought in the imme-

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RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 233

diate vicinity of Rhayader between the Cavah'ers and
Roundheads, as the contending forces were called ; but
at Abbey Cwmhir, the Royalist gentry of the county,
under the command of Colonel Barnard and Hugh
Lloyd of Caerfagu, the High Sheriff of Radnorsliii'e,
occupied and strongly fortified the abbey buildings.
They were besieged by a strong force under Colonel
Sir Thomas Myddelton, of Chirk Castle, who appears
to have had some artillery which the defenders were
not possessed of; and in consequence they were com-
pelled to capitulate to the Parliamentary forces, after
making a brave defence. General Sladen, of Rbydol-
dog, has a small cannon-ball found on Noyadd Fach
farm, in the parish of Nantmel, which had probably
fallen out of one of the artillery tumbrils *'en route" to
or from the siege ; and Mr. George Dore, builder,
Rhayader, has another, picked up in a field near the
abbey.

Canon (now Archdeacon) Bevan, in his History
of the Diocese of St. DavicTs, says that there wiis
an establishment of Black Friars, or Dominicans, at
Rhayader. Upon an old map of part of the town of
Rhayader, made in the latter part of the eighteenth
century, about 1770, there is a tenement and small
field shown on the east bank of the river Wye, and
called " The Black Friars". The house is now called
Pen-y-graig, and the field has been cut through by the
road leading over the bridge. This undoubtedly is
the site of the cell or establishment of Dominicans
referred to by the Archdeacon. In the list of monastic
houses in Father Gasquet's work on the English
Monasteries, he does not mention anything about the
Black Friars at Rhayader. It is not known what
endowment this house possessed ; probably it was an
offshoot of some other monastic establishment of the
'* Black Friars'\

Two other minor matters of local history may be
mentioned. First, the Town Hall, which was erected by
public subscription in the year J 762, and was vested

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234 KttAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUTTIKS.

in trustees for its future maintenance. Secondly, the
bridge over the Wye, which was erected in the year
1780 ; at some subsequent period the approaches there-
to were raised. Before its erection there was an earlier
bridge of timber ; the place where it stood can still be
traced by the holes in the rocks in which the timbers
were fixed, and was situated some little distance higher
up than the present bridge.

Of the original Church of St. Bridget the only
vestige that remains is the bowl of the ancient font,
circular in form, with four rude masks cut thereon, of
a type not uncommon in this part of Wales, and dating
probably from the twelfth century.

The original document printed herewith shows how
the pew system, with its exclusive right of sittings,
was a growth of the seventeenth century. The then
Rector of Nantmel — probably non-resident — was most
likely a son of Bishop William Lucy, of St. David's,
who occupied the See from 1660 to 1677, and whose
very fine marble monument is in the Chapel of Christ's
College, Brecon — and, unfortunately, very little cared
for, as the boys of the school are not apparently very
reverently disposed towards it. It is much to be re-
gretted that some more appropriate position could not
be found for this monument than the one to which it
has been relegated by the trustees or their architect.

1686.

Archbishop's Mandate for Samuel Evans to erect a
Sea IE IN YE Chancell of Rhayader.

William by divine pVidence Ld ; Archb'pp of Canterbury
primate and Metropolitan of all England To whome all and
singular jurisdiction spirituall and eccli*call w'ch to ye Bpp of
St. David's (ipsa sede jam vacante) doth belonge To o'r well
beloved in Christ Robert Powell id (crk) Vicar of Nantmell
and of ye Chapell of Rayader under Nantmell afores'd and to
Watkin Davies and Hugh Edward ap Evan wardens of ye said
Chapell sendeth greeting Whereas Samuel Evans of your
parish afores'd hath humbly shewed unto us yt he hath noe

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RHAYADER AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 235

Convenient place pew or seate in ye said Chappell to sit in to
heare divine service and sermons etc. and Likewise whereas it
hath been Certified unto us yt there is noe pew or place free
from ye claime of other persons for him to build A seate or
pew upon to here divine service &c. according to his quality
and rate and therefore hath petitioned us yt he might have A
Convenient place in ye chancell of ye said Chapell to errect
such A seate thereupon Wherefore we respecting his petition
as just and honest and having thereunto ye Consent of ye
rev'end Mr. Richd Lucy Rector there and of ye said Mr. Powell
Vicar there by yourselfe or together with the said wardens to
assigne A Convenient place in ye said Chapell for him ye said
Samuel Evans to erect A seate upon to sitt and kneele in to
hear divine service And yt you Certifie us what you shall doe
in ye premisses. Given under ye Seale which we in this behalfe
use ye fifteenth day of June Anno d*m'i 1686

Rob. Elwy

*pp Actnard
Endorsement.
Right Hon'able

Accordinge unto the d'ction of yV Lo'pps Reverend Com-
mand unto me Robert Powell Vicar of Nantmell Watkin
Davies and Hugh Edward Churchwardens of the p'ish of
Nantmell have this day mett together at the Chapell of Rayader
and have assigned unto Samuell Evans a place in the Chancell
of the said Chappell for him to errect a seate and kneelinge place
there for himself and his wief to heare devine service and
sermons there and rest

Vicesemo socundo Die Junij
1686

At yo'r Lo'pps ffurther comaunde
Robert Powell c'Vk
Watkin Davies
Hugh Edwaud Churchwardens.

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236

ROWTON CASTLE.

By rev. O. SAiVDFORD, Pant Purlas, Llandrindod.

RowTON Castlk was once conspicuous in the border
warfare between England and Wales, and numbered
in the chain of fortresses with Dolforwyn, Whittington,
Knockyn, Shrawardine and Shrewsbury, in repeated
campaigns. It was its mishap, when John L'Estrange
was its Castellan, to be captured by Llewelyn, Prince
of North Wales, and razed to the ground.

In lapse of time, however, the present castle was
built, of red sandstone, sombre-looking yet imposing,
as though it had some special histories to boast of in
feudal times.

The Corbets were among its ancient proprietors, and
were succeeded by the L' Estranges.

The first of the Lyster family was William, who
settled at Shrewsbury, of which town he was admitted
a Burgess in a.d. 1451, at the instance of the opulent
Sir John Burgh, Knight, Sheriff of Shropshire, in 1449,
to whom he was attached, and under whose patronage
he was so successful as to purchase Rowton, which is
about 7^ miles from Shrewsbury, and of which he is
written Lord in a.d. 1482.

William *s son, Richard, was born about 1451, and was
resident in Slirewsbur}'^ in 1505. The pedigree in the
Visitation states him to have married Agnes, the
daughter and heiress of — Fitzherbert of Staffordshire.
Her father seems to have been John, the youngest of
the seven sons, of whom Nicholas Fitzherbert of Salop,
son of Henry Fitzherbert, late of Norbury, in the
county of Derby, stated himself to be the father in
1450, when he was admitted to his Burgess-ship in the

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ROWTON CASTLE. 237

Corporation of Shrewsbury. Ralph, the third of these
sons, was the father of the great lawyer. Sir Anthony
Fitzherbert, one of the Justices of the Common Pleas,
author of ^n Abridgement of the Law, a work formerly
in great request. John Fitzherbert was also in the
profession of the law, being Attorney for Shrewsbury
in the King's Exchequer in the fifth year of Edward IV.

Elizabeth, or Isabel, Lyster, a daughter of this
Richard by Agnes Fitzherbert, was wife of Sir Thomas
Bromley, Kt., Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and
one of the executors of the will of King Henry VII I.
Her father, Richard Lyster, was ancestor in the fifth
degree to Thomjis Lyster, who greatly distinguished
himself by his loyalty to Charles L On the visit of that
Prince to Shrewsbury, Mr. Lyster is recorded to have
presented him with a purse of £500. His reward was the
honour of knighthood, which the ruling Parliamentary
power did not permit him to enjoy, for the register of
his burial at St. Chad's, in 1655, gives him only the
addition of Esquire. He was, however, commonly
called by the higher title, for the bells, which rang for
his funeral at the Abbey Church, were charged to Sir
Thomas Lyster's knell.

He was father of Richard Lyster, Sheriff of Shrop-
shire in 1684, whose, grandson, Richard Lyster, was
elected representative of the town of Shrewsbury in
the Parliament of 1721 ; but after having enjoyed his
seat during two sessions of Parliament, he was declared
to be unduly elected, by a vote of the House of
Commons, April 9th, 1723. It is no calumny upon
the Third Estate of tlie realm to dechne that, as long as
the House of Commons reserved to itself a judgment
of the validity of elections, its decisions were not
models of equity. Everything was at that time
biassed by party. The Administration, with the
majority of Parliament, were Whigs. Mr. Lyster was
at the head of the Tories of Shropshire; and the
pretence for displacing him was a plea that the Abbey
Foregate, in which his interest greatly preponderated.

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238 ROWTON CASTLE.

was not included within the voting liberties, though it
had enjoyed that privilege for many years.

When the House decided against Mr. Lyster, he is
related to have put on his hat, turning his back on the
Speaker; and, on several members calling to order,
he, looking round, with a firm and indignant tone,
said : *' When you learn justice I will learn manners."
The same zealous members proposed, that he should be
brought to the Bar of the House for this affront, but
Sir Robert Walpole, with his characteristic good humour,
repressed their warmth, saying to those about him :
*' Let him go ; he has been hardly enough used ".

Mr. Lyster was re-elected to the Parliament of 1727
by an undisputed majority, but at the election of 1734
the Returning Officer, who, as well as the Corporation,
was in the Whig interest, rejecting the votes of those
who had gained their freedom by servitude, prevented
the success of Mr. Lyster.

He travelled in his coach-and-six, and was a week
upon the road to London, his principal tenants, and
tradesmen, accompanyiner him as far as Watling Street,
where they were entertained at his expense.

At Highgate he was met by a select body of his
London tradesmen, and thus ushered to his own
house in Bow Street, Covent Garden ; and the same
ceremonies were repeated on his return into Shrop-
shire. All this cost was maintained by a rental of
£1,800 a year, which, on his decease without surviving
male issue, he devised for life to his widow, Elizabeth,
daughter and heiress of Hugh Derwas, Esq., of
Penrhos Hall: which estate their only child, Elizabeth,
who married the Rev. Lewis Owen, Rector of Wexham,
and Vicar of Barking, the youngest son of Sir Robert
Owen of Porkington, carried to that family, whose
representative. Lord Harlech, is the present owner.

In 1740 he was raised to the honourable distinction
of Knight of the Shire, in the room of Corbet Kynaston,
deceased, and retained his seat in the four succeeding
Parliaments till his death in 1766. His Parliamentary

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ROWTON CASTLK. 239

career comprised the unusual period of forty-five
years, and he is still remembered in Shropshire by the
name of the " Senator".

The establishment of Mr. Lyster was administered
upon the most ample scale of ancient English hospi-
tality. One day in the week his table was open to
every class of his constituents, from the very highest
to the lowest of those who could with propriety appear
at it ;^ and there were a few lately living, who could
speak to the copious potations of ale at those convivial
meetings. His progress to London to attend the
duties of Parliament, in which he is described to have
been very assiduous, had somewhat of a feudal cast,
and may not be unamusing as a picture of manners
now obsolete.

In 1812, Richard Lyster, of Rowton, in the parish
of Alberbury, was SheriflF of Shropshire. He was
'Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury from 1814 to
the time of his death in 1819.

Henry Lyster, his eldest son, married, October 13th,
A.D. 1824, Lady Charlotte Barbara, daughter of Cropley
Ashley Cooper, sixth Earl of Shaftesbury ; and in
September 1827 she invited her brother. Lord Ashley,
to spend some time at Rowton Castle on the borders
of North Wales. One day, while on this visit, he
journeyed to Berriew, and there fell into the company
of a genial companion, a Welsh clergyman.^ The
conversation turned on the Welsh language, and Lord
Ashley determined then, and there, to study it. He
soon afterwards took up his quarters with him at
Llangyny w Rectory, and began at once ; and in a
short time had sutficiently mastered it to enable him
to read it with some degree of fluency.

The Welsh people never forget a compliment paid to
them, and they never forgot the fact that the young
Lord Ashley hatl studied their language. He was

^ See Blakeway'a Sheriffs of Shropshire,

^ The Rev. Thomas Richards, Rector of Llangyuyw, 1826. — Eu.

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^40 kOWTON CASTLfi.

ever afterwards their friend ; and when, in 1831, he
became President of the Bible Society, he rose still
higher in their estimation ; nor did their legard for him
ever decline.

Many years later he went on a visit to Carnarvon,
where he was received with a flattering ovation,
deputations from all parts of Wales being sent to
welcome him. On one occasion, when addressing the
Christian Vernacular Education Society for India on
the benefits of being able to hold intercourse with the
people in their own language, he saM : " If people go
among the Irish and the Welsh, they will see how
inherent the love is of the mother-tongne. When I
was about twenty-five years of age I went to stay in
Wales for about two months : it became known that I
was studying the Welsh language, and the people
regarded me with positive reverence. They held a
great gathering, and invited me to attend ; and at that
meeting / was bj/ common consent promoted to the
dignity of a Druid, and then immediately afterwards I
was appointed a Bard, And at this present moment
I have the great honour of being both a Bard and a
Druid ".^

On April 28th, 1881, Lord Shaftesbury attained
his eightieth year.^ It was celebrated, as a national
event, and his aged sister, Lady Charlotte Lyster, was
conspicuous among his attached correspondents in the
following letter. : —

" Tutibridge Wells,

** April 28th.

" 1 have thought much of you to-day, you Dear Blessed Darling !
May God continue to watch over your most precious life !

" Your devoted Sister,

** Char."

She survived her husband twenty- six years, and
died December Uth, 1889.

^ The order of dignity is reversed here. — Ed.

^ See Hodder, Life of the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury,

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kOVVtoN CASTLE. 241

During her proprietorship, the Parliamentary Return
of the Owners of Land of England and Wales was
made in 1873. Her extent of lands was 6297 acres
2 roods 8 perches, and the gross estimated rental was
£5,642 ISs, Her large estates included portions of St.
John 8 Hill, and Belmont, in the town of Shrewsbury.

The present possessor of Row ton Castle, The Rt.
Hon. Montagu William Lowry Corry, C.B., first Baron
Rowton, second son of the second Earl of Belmore by
Lady Harriet Anne Ashley, second daughter of the
sixth Earl of Shaftesbury, was born October 8th, 1838.
He is a Deputy-Lieutenant for the county of Salop,
was joint acting secrebiry to the special embassy of
Lords Beaconsfield and Salisbury to Berlin, a.d. 1878,
and private secretary to the Earl of Beaconsfield, K.G.,
1866-8 and 1874-80. Created Baron Rowton, of Rowton
Castle, CO. Salop, 1880. He is eminently literary in
his tastes, and possesses varied materials for the
eventful life of the late Earl of Beaconsfield.

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242

THE EIGHT
KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHROPSHIRE

WHO HAVE

BORNK ARMS FROM THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
Br REV. G. SANDFORD, M.A.

I BEG to offer to the members of the Powys-land Club
an account of the knightly families of Shropshire, who
have possessed for at least four centuries armorial
bearings. The list is supplied by Mr. Evelyn Philip
Shirley, M,P., Warwickshire, who specifies the repre-
sentatives of the eight families.^

The first mentioned in the list is Corbet, a name
distinguished and popular in the county for the last
eight centuries.

Next in order is Leighton of Loton, and Camden, in
his Britannia, refers to it as ** nobilem et equestrem
familiam". They have taken a prominent part in
public affairs, and have always come to the front,
whenever their services were required.

The Sandfords of Sandford claim an uninterrupted
male descent from a follower of the Conqueror, and
have possessed their family estate from the date ot
his reign.

The Kynastons have ranked for centuries among the
leading families of Shropshire and Montgomeryshire,

1 Mr. Shirley's book is described as including: " The Noble and
Gentle Men of England, or Notes of the Ancient Knightly and Gentle
Houses of England, arranged in their respective Counties, attempted
by ICvelyn Philip Shirley, Esq., M.A., one of the Knights of the
County of Warwick." 1859.

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KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHUoPSHIRE. 243

and taken a leading part in the public affairs of both
Counties.

The Cornewalls of Delbury Hall possessed large
estates in Diddlebury and the neighbourhood before the
purchase of the Hall. They have been distinguished
in their political and ecclesiastical career, and entertain
the hope of a future series of prosperity among the
aristocracy of co. Salop.

The Burtons, or Lingens, of Longnor, were among
the gentlemen of Shropshire who married the high-
born, and well-dowered, daughters of Sir John Burgh,
descended from the Lords of Mawddwy ; and have
always shown themselves deserving of their important
position in the county.

The Harleys of Down Rossall, or Ross Hall, are
descended from John Harley, Knight, of Brampton
Bryan, in the county of Hereford, which was the seat
of the great statesman of Queen Anne's days, and is
still possessed by the family. John Harley was sherift
of Shropshire in 1481. ^-

The Tyrvvhitts have been connected for ages with^
the Principality, and the border-land, and are adding^
fresh honours and rank to their illustrious family. |

Corbet of Acton Reynald, Shrewsbury.

The family of Corbet was founded in England by
Corbeau, a noble Norman, who accompanied the
Conqueror, and with his two sons, Robert and Roger,
was employed by Roger de Montgomery, Earl oF
Shrewsbury and Arundel. At the General Survey,
Roger, the elder son, held twenty-four lordships in
Shropshire ; and Robert, the younger, fourteen in the
same county, when the tenure of land was the test of
rank, and position.

This Roger, the elder son of the first Corbeau, left a
son, William de Corbet, of Cans Castle, and Wattles-
borough.

Cans Castle was in the parish of Westbury. The

VOL. XXX. s

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244 itNlGHTLlf I*AMILIES OP SHROPSHIrEI.

site was lofty and commanding. It stood on an isolated
ridge, rising abruptly from a deep ravine on one side,
and sloping towards a vast valley boimded by the
Stiperstones on the other. It is now in a state of
complete dilapidation.

William de Corbet was father of Sir Robert de
Corbet, from a younger son of whom descended Peter
Corbet, of Caus Castle, who was summoned to Parlia-
ment as a Baron, temp. Edward I.

Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir Fulke Corbet,
married John de la Pole, Lord of Mawddwy, who died
November 3rd, 1403.

Richard Corbet settled at Moreton Corbet, and his
direct line continues still to reside there.

The tenth in descent from Richard was Sir Vincent
Corbet, who had two sons, the elder of whom was
Andrew, whose son, Vincent, inherited Moreton Corbet,
and was created a baronet in 1642.

Moreton Corbet Castle presents a noble pile of ruins,
magniBcent in decay. A considerable portion of the
walls is still standing, but its roof has been demolished
many years ago. The castle is said to have been partly
burnt during the Parliamentary war, since which time
it has gradually sunk into insignificance and dilapida-
tion. The son of Sir Vincent Corbet was named
Vincent, and was second baronet. The third baronet,
also Vincent, died in his minority.

Richard Corbet, of Shawbury, inherited the family
estates and became of Moreton Corbet, and his des-
cendant, Andrew Corbet, was created a baronet in
1808.

His eldest son, Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, mar-
ried Rachel Stevens, sister of the second Viscount
Hill, and was sheriff of Shropshire in 1843; and his
second son, Richard, succeeded to the Adderley Hall
estate.

Sir Vincent Rowland Corbet succeeded his father as
third baronet, and married Agnes, third daughter of
Rear- Admiral the Hon. C. O. Bridgeman, of Knockin

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kKtOHTLY FAMtLIES OF SHROPStilRE. 245

Hall. His son, Walter Orlando, was born July 11th,
1856.

Arms — Or^ a raven with very many quarterings.
Motto — " Deus pascit corvos/' Seat — Acton Reynald
Hall, near Shrewsbury.

It is singular, that in the long line of the Corbets
not one of them seems to have married an heiress
(Blake way's Shetnffs, p. 65).

I cannot refrain from referring to some offshoots of
the family oi Corbet, and I commence with Corbett of
Longnor and Leighton, near Welshpool.

Sir Edward Corbett, of Longnor and Leighton, Knight,
was created a baronet in 1642. The senior branch of
the line expired in 1774 with Sir Richard Corbett, Bart.,
whereupon the title devolved upon Charles Corbett, of
London, great-grandson of Thomas, the second son of
the tirst baronet ; but the estates were devised by
Sir Richard Corbett in 1774 to his kinsman, Robert
Flint, who took the name of Corbett, and left his
property to his nephew, the Rev. Joseph Plymley,
Archdeacon of Salop, who also assumed the name of
Corbett.

His son, Panton, was Member of Parliament for
Shrewsbury at three elections, towards the close of the
reign of George III, beginning with 1814, and High
Sheriff of the county in 1849. He sold the Leighton
estate to Christopher BuUen, Esq., by whom it was
devised to John Naylor, Esq.

His son. Colonel Edward Corbett, represented for
awhile South Shropshire, as the colleague of Sir Percy
Egerton Herbert, from 1868 to 1877.

The Corbets of Sundorne Castle enhanced the dignity
and influence of their family until the death of Dryden
Robert Corbet without issue. His sister, Annabella,
wife of Sir Theodore Brinckman, became the only
remaining representative of the family, and the estates
passed into the hands of her cousins, the Pigotts of
Edgmond, who assumed the name of Corbet*

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246 knightly families op shropshire.

The Leightons of Loton.

The Leightons of Loton Park extend their family
pedigree beyond the tiraeof the Conquest. They have
taken a prominent part in the affairs of the county, and
have given freely their substance, and devoted their
best energies, to the public welfare.

Totilus de Leighton, whose name appears in Domes-
day Book, was a landed proprietor in Shropshire, and
grandfather of Su' Titus de Leighton, Knight of the
Sepulchre, who, on his return from the Holy Land,
was a joint founder of the Abbey of Buildwas, near
Wenlock.

From him descended John Leighton, of Stretton,
who was three times Sheriff of Shropshire in the reign
of Edward IV, and he obtained the Manors of Watles-
boro' and Cardiston, still in possession of the family,
by his marriage with Anchoret, second daughter of Sir
John de Burgh, Lord of Mawddwy.

His son and successor was Sir Thomas Leighton,
Knight of the Body to Henry VII, and one of the
chief commanders in the army sent over to France in
the beginning of that reign, in aid of the Duke of
Bretagne against the French monarch. He was also
engaged in the wars of Henry VIII, when he had the
honour of being made Knight Banneret under the
King's own banner displayed in the royal army, for
his valour and conduct at the Battle of the Spurs.

His son, John Leighton, was M.P. for Salop in the
Parliament held at Blackfriars.

Robert Leighton was M.P. for Shrewsbury at the
restoration of Charles II.

His son Edward was M.P. for Shrewsbury, and was
created a baronet, March 2nd, 1662.

His children by a second marriage came into posses-
sion of the family estate of Bausley, Montgomeryshire.
His relatives had advanced money by way of loan to
Sir Edward, and seemed to have received the manor of
Bausley in return.

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KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHKOPSHIRK. 247

In a paper at Loton, the value of the manor is
stated to have been £6,000 and more ; and it would
appear as if the manor were disposed of for about
£3,000 by Sir Edward, with the motive of favouring
the children of his second marriage, who were nephews
and nieces of William Leighton's first wife, as well as
of William Leighton himself.

William Leighton gained a complete victory over
his nephew, and lost no time in settling the property
upon the five children of his brother by the second
marriage.

The manor eventually fell into the hands of the
Rev. Francis Kny vett Leighton, Warden of All Souls,
Oxford, by whom it was sold.

Sir Baldwin was the sixth baronet, who married,
secondly, Margaretta Louisa Anne, second daughter of
Sir John Thomas Stanley, Bart., of Alderley Park,
Cheshire, by whom he had an only son. Sir Baldwin,
seventh baronet, Sheriff of Shropshire in 1835, and
M.P. for the Southern Division in 1859. He married,
February 9th, 1832, Mary, daughter of Thomas
Netherton Parker, of Sweeney Hall, Salop, by whom
he had two sons, Baldwin and Stanley.

In a letter of Benjamin Disraeli, afterwards Earl of
Beaconsfield, to his sister, on his election for the
borough of Shrewsbury, he gives us a pleasing
portraiture of his visit to Loton.

"Carlton Club,

"July 7, 1841.
"After the chairing, which was gorgeous and fatiguing: after
quaffing the triumphal cup at forty different spots in Salop, a dinner
and a speech, we went and stayed till Monday at Loton Park, Sir
Baldwin Leigli ton's, one of the most charming old English halls, and
filled with a family in their way as perfect. A complete old English
gentleman, whom I first met at Stamboul, a most agreeable wife,
the finest amateur artist I know, and children lovelier than the
dawn."

In 1871 Sir Baldwin was succeeded by his son. Sir
Baldwin, eighth Baronet of Wattlesborohgh and Loton.
He married, January 30th, 1864, the Honourable

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248 KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHROPSHIRE.

Eleanor Leicester Warren, third daughter of George
Warren, Lord de Tabley, and had issue a son, Bryan
Baldwin Mawddwy, now ninth baronet, born 1868.
He was elected Member of Parliament for South
Shropshire without opposition in 1877.

At the general election of 1880, he was returned at
the head of the poll for the same division. The
acreage of the family estate is 4085.

Hrs brother Stanley succeeded to the Sweeney Hall
estates through his mother, and married Jessie Mary,
third daughter of Henry Bertie Williams- Wynn, of
Nant y Meichied, Meifod, and Howbery Park, in the
county of Oxon. In 1876, he was returned, after an
exciting contest, for North Shropshire, and has since
continued to represent the Oswestry division of the
county.

Thb Sandfords of Sandford.

The Sandfords of Sandford, in the parish of Prees,
claim an uninterrupted male descent from a Norman
follower of the Conqueror, and have possessed their
ancestral acres from the date of his reign.

They have been distinguished by the honour of
knighthood on twelve different occasions, and chiefly
for their uniform intrepidity in border warfare.

The good service of Richard Sandford at the battle
of Cressy was acknowledged by Edward III in letters-
patent under the great seal of England, and they are
still preserved at Sandford.

Richard Sandford was also seneschal of Montgomery
Castle in 1827 and 1354, and, in an Inquisitio post
mortem^ 28 Kdw. Ill, Montgomery castrum is entered
among his possessions or residences.

Sir Richard Sandford was knighted on the eve of
the battle of Shrewsbury, and v^as one of the body-
guard of Henry IV, and hia Arms, and those of his
companions, were emblazoned till lately on a window
of Battlefield Church ; but in consequence of some

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KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHROPsHlHE. 249

alterations in the church they were taken down, and
are now visible in the Sandford Chapel of Frees
Church.

His brother, Nicholas, was Sheriff of Shropshire in
138G. He was required for forty years to find a man
and horse, armed, for the defence of the King's Castle of
Montgomery.

Arthur Sandford was heir of Sandford in the
Parliamentaiy war, and compounded for his estates by
a fine of £459. His brother, Thomas, besieged and
took Hawarden Castle.

His son, Francis, the celebrated genealogist, sur-
rendered his patent of the office of Lancaster Herald
rather than proclaim William of Orange King.

Thomas Sandford was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1752,
and the last of the ancient line, Thomas Hugh Sand-
ford, was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1866. He married
(l) Alexina Nisbet Lindsay, niece of the Earl of
Crawford and Balcarres, and (2) Sarah, second daughter
of William Halsted Poole, Esq., of Terrick Hall, co.
Salop. He left his wife a life-interest in the family
estates, but he appointed his second cousin, Sir Francis
Kichard Sandford, as his eventual heir. He was the
grandson uf Dr. Daniel Sandford, Bishop of Edinburgh,
and son of Sir Daniel Keyte Sandford, M.P. for Paisley.
He married Margaret, fourth daughter of Robert
Findlay, Esq., of Boturick Castle, co. Dumbarton.

He was one of Her Majesty's Commissioners for the
National Exhibition of 1851, and became Assistant-
Secretary for the Colonies in 1868. He was subse-
quently appointed Secretary to the Committee of
Council on Education for England and Scotland, and
resigned that office in 1886.

In the next year he was appointed a Privy Councillor,
having in 1871 received the distinction of a Commander
of the Bath, and that of a Knight Commander of the
same Order in 1879.

He was elevated to the Peerage on January 1st,
1891, and connected his title with the ancestral estate

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250 KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHROPSHIRE.

of Sandford, in the parish of Frees. He remarked on
that occasion, that it was very pleasant, and of no little
interest to himself, to meet with so much sympathy
from friends and kinsmen, and he was only sorry to
have no son to keep the title alive ; and that he was
gratified by relatives entertaining such kindly feelings
towards one, who had so unexpectedly become the head
of the family. But though he was to enjoy the
honours of the Peerage for a short time, and had no
continuity for his line, he was universally respected
for his sterling qualities, and in all his affairs was con-
spicuous for his energy, talent, tact and courtesy. He
died December 31st, 1893.

His brother. Dr. Daniel Fox Sandford, was Bishop
of Tasmania, and subsequently Suffiagan Bishop of
Durham, and is the present heir to the estate of
Sandford, and has issue.

His uncle, the Venerable John Sandford, was Arch-
deacon of Coventry, and his son, Dr. C. W. Sandford,
is the present Bishop of Gibraltar.

An offshoot of the family of Sandford is located at
the Isle of Up Rossall, near Shrewsbury, and a member
of it was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1787.

The Kynastons of Hardwick.

The Kynastons of Hardwick, co. Salop, and Plas yn
Dinas, Montgomeryshire, are deservedly ranked among
the old distinguished families of the locality.

The Kynastons claimed descent from Bleddyn ap
Cynfyn, Prince of Powys, and have been for ages the
objects of affection and respect to their neighbours,
and have been prominent in the records of adjoining
counties.

Sir Roger Kynaston, a distinguished knight, slew, at
the battle of Bloreheath, Lord Audley, the leader of
the opposite forces, which were of the Lancastrian
party. He married Elizabeth Grey, daughter of Henry
Grey, Earl of Tankerville in Normandy, and Baron

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KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHROPSHIRE. 251

Powys in England, and thus asserted a claim to the
Barony of Powys, which lies still in abeyance.

The Kynastons were equally eligible from their
estates for high offices in Shropshire and Montgomery-
shire. One of their family was sheriff of Shropshire in
1462, another in 1508, another in 1599, another in
1603 ; and in 1682 Edward Kynaston was sheriff, and
about that time represented the county of Salop in
three Parliaments ; while others of the family were
sheriffs of Montgomeryshire in 1623, 1656, 1666, and
the last of the family, Sir John Roger Kynaston Powell,
was sheriff in 1842.

The Kynastons were very earnest and persistent in
putting forward their claim for the vacant barony of
Grey. The plea was urged by the Duke of Portland,
April 2 1st, 1800 ; and, finally, after a long controversy,
in consideration of his descent from the said ancient
and noble family, John Kynaston Powell was advanced
by patent to a baronetcy, granted with remainder to
his brother, Edward, the Kings Chaplain, who suc-
ceeded him in 1822. The last baronet. Sir John Roger
Kynaston Powell, succeeded in 1839, and died in 1866,
aged sixty-six years.

The descent however, of the Kynastons from the
princes, and barons, of Powys will not be forgotten, nor
will their zeal for their country and its institutions
fade from our memories.

In connecting the present Kynastons with their
predecessors at Hardwicke, 1 have to refer to the
marriage of the Rev. Sir Edward Kynaston Powell,
second baronet, with Miss Laetitia Owen, daughter of
Robert Owen, Esq., of Dublin. The issue of the
marriage was Sir John Roger Kynaston Powell, third
baronet, and a daughter. Amy, who married the Rev.
Evelyn Levett Sutton, M.A., Rector of High Halden
and Vicar of St. Peter's in the Isle of Thanet.

Sir John Roger Kynaston Powell was born in 1797,
and succeeded as third baronet in 1839. He was
educated at Rugby, and was appointed a magistrate

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252 KNIGHTLY FAMILIES O? SHR0P8HIBE.

and deputy-lieutenant for Oxon., and for co. Mont-
gomery, of which he was high sheriff in 1842.

The eventual heir to the Hardwick estates, the
Rev. Walter Charles Edward Owen, a near relative of
the second Lady Kynaston, succeeded to the property
by the will of Amy Sutton, late of Hardwick Hall, and
is alluded to in the Parliamentary Return of Owners of
Land in England and Wales in 1873, as Rev. W. C. E.
Kynaston, Hardwick, Ellesmere : extent of lands,
3,518 a. 2 r. 31 p.; gross estimated rental, £5,429.
The grant of arms of Kynaston was given to the
Rev. W. C. E. Owen on his taking the name of Kynaston,
on June 2nd, 1868.

The cantref of Ellesmere was given by King John as
a marriage portion to his daughter, Joan, wife of
Llewelyn the Great, and thus became at least for a
season identified with the interests and honours of
Wales; but the Kynastons, who have been frequently
members of Parliament and high sheriffs in Shrop-
shire, have been enrolled by Mr. Evelyn Shirley, M.P.,
as among the eight noble families of that county. The
name has been endeared by the public services, and
patriotism, of able and excellent men, and it is fervently
hoped, that it will continue to be honoured in the
future, as in the past.

The Corne walls of Dklbury.

The Cornewalls of Delbury, in the parish of Diddle-
bury, are mentioned by Shirley among the eight
knightly families of Shropshire.

They have possessed their aimorial bearings for four
continuous centuries, and have been owners of a good
estate ; in the Return of Overseers of Land in 1873,
acreage, 2,917 a. 1 r. 28 p; rental, £3,398 10^. The
church at Diddlebury contains many memorials of the
family.

The Cornewalls claim descent from Richard, King of
the Romans, second son of King John, by his son, the
Duke of Cornwall, and have been owners of land at

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KNIGHTLY FAMIUKS OF SHROPSHIRK. 253

Berrington, Herefordshire, where four of the family
attained to the rank of knighthood at an early period
of our liistory. Their alliances have been frequently
formed among the nobility.

Frederick Cornewall, R.N., who purchased Delbury
Hall, married Mary Herbert, who was daughter of
Francis Herbert, M.P. for Montgomery, cousin of Henry
Arthur, Earl of Powis, and included in the limitations
of succession to the peerage of the family. Her mother
was Mary, daughter of Rowland Baugh, Esq., of the
Stonehouse, Onibury, and grand-daughter of Thomas,
the second Lord Folliott of Ballyshannon, co. Donegal,
at whose seat in Ireland she was born.

The eldest son of Lieutenant Cornewall, R.N., repre-
sented Ludlow in Parliament, and died unmarried at
Diddlebury in 1783. Another member of the family
had been Speaker of the House of Commons.

The younger brother of Lieutenant Cornewall was
Bishop in succession of the sees of Bristol, Hereford,
and Worcester. His name was Folliott Herbert
Walker Cornewall. He had succeeded to the estates
of his relatives, the Walkers of Ferney Hall, Onibury.
A member of that family had been Sheriff of Shropshire
in 1725. Bishop Cornewall died at the Episcopal
Palace at Hartlebury, September 5th, 1831.

He married Anne, daughter of the Hon. George
Hamilton, youngest son of James, Earl of Abercorn,
and his descendants have intermarried with families of
rank and influence.

Herbert Cornewall, son of the Bishop, succeeded to
the ancestral property at Diddlebury.

The Burtons of Longnek.

As Burton of Longner is mentioned by Mr. Shirley
as one of the eight Shropshire families of knightly
descent, I beg to refer to the circumstance under which
the name of Lingen was merged in that of Burton : for
Isabella, third daughter and co-heiress of Sir John de

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254 KNIGHTLY FAMILIES OF SHROPSHIRE.

Burgh, Lord of Mawddwy, raarried Sir John Lyngen,
of Lyngen, co. Hereford, Knight.

Robert Burton, of Longner, in the parish of St. Chad,
Shrewsbury, was eldest son of Thomas Lingen, of
Radbrook, in the county of Gloucester, by Anne,
daughter of Robert Burton, sherifi of Shropshire in
1709, and heiress to her brother, Thomas, and also to
her uncle of the same name who died in 1736, the last
male heir of the Burtons of Longner.

In the annals of the Burton family it is worthy ot
record that Sir Edward Burton was with King
Edward IV successful in fourteen pitched battles
between the contending houses of York and Lanaister,
and for his eminent loyalty and courage he was made
knight-banneret under the royal standard in the tield ;
and it is related of his descendant, Edward Burton, a
devoted Protestant, that he died of joy on the accession
of Queen Elizabeth in 1558.

Mr. Robert Burton, who was sheriff of Shropshire in
1852, had a large share of local honours and oflBces
heaped upon him. His estate at Longner, in the
parish of St. Chad, Shrewsbury, closely connected him
and his family with the county town, to which he was
deeply attached, and he was not without an earnest
desire to represent it in Parliament. He was the last
mayor of Shrewsbury in 1835 under the old corpora-
tion. He was again elected to that office in the
reformed corporation in 1844, and was an alderman at
the time of his death, September 14th, 1860. He was
a magistrate for the borough as well as for the county,
and a deputy-lieutenant, a trustee of Shrewsbury
School, and of the municipal and most of the other
public charities of the town, and a prominent leader of
the Conservative party in Shrewsbury, which he had
hopes of representing in Parliament. He was succeeded
in his estates by his son, Robert Lingen, in 1860, who
married his cousin, Catherine Sophia, eldest daughter
of Richard Francis Cleaveland, Commander, R.N.
The acreage of Longner in 1S73 was 2,244 a. 3 r. 9 p.

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KKlGflTLY F*AMlLtRS OP SflROPSHlRB. 255

Harley, of Down Rossall (Ross Hall, near
Shrewsbury.)

I take next in order the distinguished family of
Harley, which has flourished for a long term of years
in Shropshire and the adjoining counties, and conferred
signal advantages on the State.

I commence by referring to Sir John Harley, sheriff
of Shropshire in a.d. 1481. He was great-grandson of
Brian Harley, who succeeded to the Herefordshire
property of his mother, the co-heiress of Brampton
JBrian ; and both the brothers, Brian and Robert, were
grandsons of Richard de Harley, sheriff of Shropshire
in 1301. Sir John was an active Yorkist, and had
been knighted on the field of Tewkesbury in 1471.

Richard de Harley had represented the county of
Salop in Parliament in the 28th year of Edward I.

The great statesman and orator of the family was
Sir Robert Harley, afterwards Earl of Oxford and
Mortimer. He was born December 1661, and was
successively Speaker of the House of Commons,
Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord
High Treasurer, K.G., created Baron Harley, of
Wigmore Castle, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer,
May 24th, 1711. He was a munificent patron of art
and literature, and an accomplished archaeologist. He
married Elizabeth, sister of Thomas, first Lord Foley,
of Whitley Court, Worcestershire.

To approach our own times, Lady Jane Elizabeth
Harley, eldest daughter of Edward Harley, fifth Earl
of Oxford and Mortimer, married, August 17th, 1835,
Henry Bickersteth, barrister-at-law, Master of the
Rolls, who was created in 1836 Baron Langdale, and
died April Ist, 1851, by whom she had an only child,
Jane Francis, who married Count Teleki, and died in
the lifetime of Lady Langdale, who assumed in 1853
the surname and arms of Harley. She succeeded on
the demise of her brother Alfred, sixth Earl, to the
chief possession of the family estates, and was a large

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256 KNIGHTLY I^^AMILtES OF JSHKOPSHlfeB).

landownei* in the county of Hereford. She was
attached to Eywood, near Kington, on the borders of
Radnorshire, which finally came into the possession of
General Bacon, who had married Lady Charlotte Mary
Harley. She had won the special admiration of Lord
Byron, and to her, as " lanthe", he dedicated the first
two cantos of his Childe Harold, and speaks of him-
self as one

" who hailed thee, loveliest as thou wast".

Lady Langdale appointed as her heir to her large
Herefordshire estates her distant relative, Robert Dacre
Harley, whose ancestors had occasionally enjoyed the
highest honours which the municipality of Shrewsbury
could confer upon them.

Samuel Harley was mayor of Shrewsbury in a.d. 1 784,
William Harley enjoyed the same honour in a.d. 1814,
and John Harley purchased the beautiful estate of
Ross Hall, which had been previously possessed by the
Lords Forester and the Hon. Henry Wentworth Powys,
of Berwick, on the banks of the Severn. He died
June 30th, 1883, aged ninety-one. The present pro-
prietor of Brampton Brian married the Hon. Patience
Rodney, and has a family. The acreage of his estate
was returned in 1873 as 9,869 a. 1 r. 16 p.

The Honourable Raymond Robert Tyrwhitt,
OF Stanley Hall.

Last among the knightly families of Shropshire is
that of the Hon. Raymond Robert Tyrwhitt, of Stanley
Hall. They have taken a prominent part in obtaining
Parliamentary honours, and have been twice classified
among the sheriffs of Shropshire.

They are much attached to their beautiful seat,
Stanley Hall, among the most picturesque scenery of
Shropshire, and it is environed by an estate of 4,049
acres. It was left to them by Sir Thomas Jones,
Knight, heir of Sir Thomas Jones, Chief Justice of the

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fcjJlGH*LY FAMILIkS OP SHROPSHIRE. 2^7

Court of Common Pleas in the reign of James II. He
was of Careghova, in Llanymynech. They have repre-
sented Denbigh, Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury more than
once in the great council of the nation.

A former head of the family, Thomas John Tyrwhitt
Jones, Esq., was created a baronet in a.d. 1808, and
was appointed High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1816 ; his
son and successor, who resumed the old family surname
of Tyrwhitt, enjoyed a similar honour in 1877. He
married, in November 1853, Emma Harriet, only
daughter of the Honourable Robert Wilson, and niece
of Henry William, sixth Lord Berners, of Ash well
Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk, whom she succeeded
in the barony in 1871. Sir Thomas died on the
26th June, 1894, aged sixty-nine years.

His eldest son is the Honourable Sir Harry Tyrwhitt
Wilson, Bart., which surname he assumed in 1876.
He was an officer in the Grenadier Guards, and has
been Equerry to the Prince of Wales. His chief resi-
dence was for awhile Keythorpe Hall, Tugby, Leicester;
and he was High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1884, and
is heir to the barony of Berners. But he is succeeded
in the Stanley Hall estate by his second son, the Hon.
Raymond Robert Tyrwhitt, who was born in 1855.

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258

THE TWENTY -GENTLE" FAMILIES OF
SHROPSHIRE.

By rev. G. SANDFORD, M.A.

The classification of Mr. Shirley is limited to those
gentlemen who bore arms from the fifteenth cen-
tury. His standard was adopted by his own choice,
while other antiquarians might have given a prefer-
ence to large landed proprietors or to successful
merchants.

But while some distinction is awarded to all heads of
families in the list, it is observable that some numbered
among the " Gentle' portion of the aristocracy have
outrun in the race of honours the representatives of
several knightly families, to one of which, however,
the late Lord Sandford belonged.

The Olives have obtained the Earldom of Powis and
the Barony of Windsor, and the Actons, Hills, at
Hawkestone and Attingham, and the Foresters, have
become peers of the realm.

I allude with respect to the large number of the
aristocracy of the border-land, who have left their
honoured names to an admiring posterity, that has
been always mindful of the responsibilities as well as the
privileges of their position ; while I regret the loss of
some families venerated through past ages, such as the
Myttons of Halston, the Whitmores of Apley Park,
and the Owens of Condover. The Powys-land Club
can, however, still exult in their representative of a
scion of the Lords of Mawddwy, the public-spirited
Mr. Mytton, of Garth.

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TWENTY " gentle'' FAMILIES OF SHBOPSHIRE.

259

Gentle Families hearing Arms from the Fifteenth Ceniury,
CO. Salop.

1. Gatacre

2. Eyton

3. Plowden

4. Acton

5. Whit more

6. Walcot

7. Baldwin, called Cbilde,

8. Dod .

9. Oakeley

10. Hill .

11. Forester

12. Edwardes

13. Betton, called Bright .

14. Clive, called Herbert .

15. Lawlej

16. Thomas

17. Harries

18. Pigott

19. Salwey

20. Borough

of Gatacre.

of Eyton.

of Plowden.

of Aldenham.

of Apley.

of Hitterley.

of Kinlet.

of Cloverley.

of Oakeley.

of Hawkestone.

of Willey.

of Harden Grange, and

Shrewsbury,
of Totterton Hall,
of Styche.
of Spoonbill,
of Llwyndinam HalL
of Cruckton.
of Edgmond.
of Moor Park,
of Chetwynd.

VOL. XXX.

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260

FORDEN TITHES.

AN EARLY CROMWELLIAN INDENTURK.*

By E. S. MOSTYN PRYCE, Esq.

The following ancient deed has been carefully kept for
two hundred and forty-nine years. It will be of general
interest, not only for its quaint phraseology and repeti-
tions, as well as its disregard of all modern, or indeed
of any consistent rules of spelling, but also for the in-
ternal evidence it provides of the ecclesiastical conditions
which prevailed in 1649, and of the still more interest-
ing glimpses it gives of the devolution of the parish
tithes of Forden. The original is on parchment, and
is still in fair preservation.

The date of the indenture is June 26th, 1649. The
Royal Martyr had scarcely five months been executed,
and Parliamentary government had, it seems, already
impressed its tone upon even legal documents ; for no
longer, as we see, is the king styled, according to the
practice in all deeds of previous date, ** Charles by the
grace of God our Soueraigne Lord King of England
Scotland firaunce and Ireland, Defender of the Faith",
but plainly " The late King Charles".

In 164G, Presbyterianism had been proclaimed, many
of the clergy had been already dispossessed in 1643,

1 In the " History of Forden Parish", bj the Rev. J. E. Vize,
M.A., F.R.M.S., vol. xvi, pp. 193-95, a brief account is given of the
Grants of these Tithes ; and in vol. xxii, pp. 343-7, a full account, by
the late Kev. W. Valentine Lloyd, M.A., F.R.G.S., under Sir John
Witteronge, Bart., Slieriff of Montgomeryshire in 1665, of his mother,
Lad}' Anne Myddelton's Will and Endowment of the Benefice. This
article makes tlie history more complete. — Ed.

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POBDEN TITHES. 261

bene6ces thus vacated had been filled with independent
ministers, some had simply been seized by persons
without any lawful authority, and ecclesiastical anarchy
in the surrounding Puritanism prevailed.

Internal evidence, indeed, of this condition of ecclesi-
astical aifairs is to be noticed in the deed, which recites
that ** there is no perpetuall minister or other person
rector or vicar of the sayd Parish Church of fforden
who hath any right or capacitie in Lawe to take or
receive any estate of inheritance but the minister for
the time officiateing and serveing the cure there is in
the name of a Stipendiary and the nominac on of him
belongeth to the Impropriator of the sayd Rectory": a
patronage which has since been exercised for nearly
two hundred and fifty years by the Grocers' Company
up to the present time.

Previously to this, Forden church had been vacant
altogether, and ** had noe Rectory nor Vicarage en-
dowed nor noe maintainance setled for a minister to
oflficiate and discharge the sayd Cure". At such a
juncture, Dame Anne Middelton charitably came for-
ward and endowed it. Up to the time in question, the
tithes of Forden parish had belonged to Sir Thomas
Middleton of Chirk Castle, ** late of London knight
and alderman", and Sir Hugh Middleton, Bart., the pro-
jector of the New River. Forden, like other parishes
contiguous to Chirbury, had probably been severed
from the Mother Church of Chirbury by the Prior and
Austin Friars of that place, until the spoliation of the
monasteries. At all events, the tithes, as we might
expect, ** sometime were a parcell of the possessions of
the late priory of Chirbury".

The Middletons, of Middleton in Chirbury, were
landed gentry of well-known social standing in the
reign of Henry VIII. An interesting fourteenth-
century tablet to a member of the family may still be
seen in Chirbury Church.

The old mansion-house of the Middletons is still
standing in that parish, though in a very dilapidated

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262 FORDEN TITHES.

condition, to the south of the present vicarage, higher
up the hill.

In 1612, the first Sir Thomas Middleton acquired
the Forden Tithes by royal grant from James I, dated
at Westminster, 9th February, 10 James. This deed,
in Latin, is preserved at Chirk Castle. It grants the
Tithes of Forden and Churchstoke, both of which are
described as formerly belonging to the Priory of Chir-
bury, and the tithes of Lhinfair formerly belonging to
the Monastery of Llanllugan, to Sir Thomas, ** To hold
as of our manor of East Greenwich per Jidelitatem tan-
turn in lihero et non in libera cum soccagio et non in
capite nee per servitatum militare"

Thus had these tithes, by historical certainty from
time immemorial the property of the Catholic Church,
been first spoliated by Henry VIII from Chirbury
church, next descended to his daughter Elizabeth, and
been leased out by her ; and later, still held by the
Crown under James I, been finally granted by him to
a lay impropriator.

To the CathoUc Church, by a codicil to her will
dated May 20th, 1645, proved February 5th, 1646-7,
Dame Anne Middleton partially restored them. In
conjunction with other charitable bequests, and for a
suitable means ready made for distributing them, she
named as trustees the Society of Grocers in London,
who hold the Forden Tithes to the present day. To
the Grocers personally she bequeathed forty shillings
a year ** for their care and paynes" in the distribution ;
and to their clerk for the time being forty shillings per
annum ** for his paynes and care in the procuring of
the sayd Rents and Profitts''. Seventy-two years later,
in 1718, another member of the family. Sir William
Middleton, the fourth and last baronet, followed the
generous example of Anne, Lady Middleton, by re-
storing the tithes of Chirk to the Church.

By virtue of an old roundabout legal method of
earlier times, the Indenture is in form quadripartite,
between Sir John Wittewronge of Rothamsted, son

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FORDEN TITHES. 263

and heir of Dame Anne Middleton, who as executor
thus carries out the provisions of her will ; Humphry
Taylor, a man of straw, inserted in view of the exigen-
cies of the antique legal form, a number of trustees,
apparently one of the county committees, by whom
ecclesiastical discipline over the clergy was exercised,
if exercised at all, at this period, and who watched
over the interests of the Parliament, and fourthly,
twelve gentlemen who are speci6ed as being *' Citizens
and Grocers of London". The Indenture recites how
" Dame Anne Middleton" had purchased the Forden
Tithes from Sir Thomas Middleton, together with a fee-
farm rent of twenty-seven pounds a year secured upon
the tithes of St. Austell in Cornwall — a very old form
of tenure, which, however, occasionally obtains in pre-
sent times in ground-rent securities — and had by her
will of May 20th, 1645, bequeathed them to her exe-
cutor in trust to convey them to the Society of Grocers
in London. The warden and assistants of this Society
were to distribute forty pounds a year on Christmas
Day out of the tithes, " for the Redeeming and re-
leaving" of poor prisoners in or about London, a
singular bequest if it were in our own time, but in
the seventeenth century, when there was imprisonment
for debt and prisons were teeming, no doubt a reason-
able wish to mitigate the hardships of the rigorous law.
Ten pounds a year were to be paid to Christ's Hospital,
or the Blue-coat School in Newgate Street, which had
been founded in 1552, **for the releife of the poore
children of the same Hospitall". Five pounds a year
were tx) go to the poor of Westham in Essex, out of
which forty shillings were for " Twenty of the poorest
and most impotent people". Twenty pounds more were
appointed for "Tenn poore ministers' widowes", and
another ten pounds a-year to ** Tenn poore men and
women that are aged and past labor", as selected by
the Grocers' Company. Three pounds ten shillings a-
year more were for ** the seaven Almesmen of the Com-
pany of Grocers", and a further life-interest of five

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264 FORDEN TITHES.

pounds a year to Widow Anna Bufkin. Any remainder
out of the profits of the Forden Tithes and the St.
Austell fee-farm rent were to be disposed of by the
said wardens and assistants for the relief of the poor
at their discretion.

It is interesting to note that the Forden Tithes and the
St. Austell rent-charge of £27 are stated to be together
of the yearly value of £105 ; that is to say, that the
parish tithes of Forden alone were worth, in 1645, £78 ;
their value under the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836
is as much as £328 0^. 8d. Incidentally it is added that
the Forden Tithes had been " some times in the tenure
or occupac'on of Henry Mack Williams Esq'e and Dam.e
Mary Cheke his wife", and at that time were worth the
yearly value of £8 8^. 3c?. Henry Mack Williams was
a gentleman-pensioner of the time of Queen Elizabeth,
and " the Lady Cheke", as she is styled in older deeds,
was one of the gentlewomen of Her Majesty's privy
chamber. In 1575 Queen Elizabeth herself was the
possessor of the parish tithes of Forden, which had
been annexed by her father King Henry VIII from the
dissolved priory of Chirbury ; and on June 8th of that
year the Queen had leased them to the Mackwilliams
for thirty-three years at the rent named, paid to herself.
Thus we have Queen Elizabeth, good churchwoman that
she was, personally owning church property which her
father had robbed.

Very little money had been current up to the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, and its rapid increase of vahie m
terms of agricultural produce in the seventy years
following is remarkable: for the same tithes, which were
valued at £8 3^. 3d, in 1575, had in 1645 increased
more than nine times in value. In the two hundred
years succeeding up to 1836, corn and produce had
increased but four times again in value. Since 1836,
the date of the Tithes Commutation Act, when the par
value of tithes was fixed in terms of corn only, the
average value of that commodity has, up to the present
year, decreased a little more than 30 per cent. ; to some

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PORDEN TITHES. 265

extent an lodication that the pendulum is swinging the
other way, and that the value of money is appreciating ;
or, in other words, that the purchasing power of the
precious metal has become many times greater of late
than it was in the days of good Queen Bess.

Worthy of remark are the quaint specifications of
the tithe property at this period vested in the rectory,
which included '* all manner of tithes of Corn Grayne
Haye and all other Tithes oblac'ons profitts commodi-
ties emoluments whatsoever with the appurtenances,
all manner of woods Vnderwoods Trees and coppices
and the lands and scy tes of the same And alsoe all and
singuler sites messuages granges Mills houses buildings
structures barnes stables orchards gardens shopps
cellers lands tenements meadowes pastures feedings
commons wayes Demeasne lands gleabe lands waste
ffurses bruery moores Marishes Tythes of Corn and
Grayne and hay WooU flaxe hemp and Lambes and
all other Tythes whatsoever as well greater as lesser as
well named as not named alsoe all oblac'ons obventions
ffruits offerings profitts advantages rents reserved vpon
any demises or grants whatsoever". A good portion of
so prolific a list, we are tempted to think, must have
existed mainly in the imagination of the legal luminary
who drafted the indenture. Still, a picture is supplied
us of the dimensions which the collection of the tithes
of a parish in kind must have meant. Huge tithe-
barns had to be built, and the tithe-owners were accus-
tomed to lease out the tithes at a fixed rent to the
squire or landowner, who farmed them and made what
profit he might. That the tenant's right in the farm
lease of the tithes was of no inconsiderable value is
evident, since the lease of these same tithes was, in
1612, bought as a marriage portion for Richard Harries^
of Stockton, by his trustees, Arthur Harries of Con-

1 The Harrieses of Stockton were an old Shropshire family, resident
at Stockton Hall, now a farm belonging to Mr. Mostyn Pryce, of
Gunley. The family became extinct in the male line when Colonel
Harries of Cruckton died about twenty years ago.

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266 FORDEN TITHES.

dover, Thomas Harries,^ serjeant-at-law, Richard More*
of Linley, Matthew Herbert^ of Dolegiogge, and Edward
Herbert of Kemmes, for £120, a large sum of money at
the comparative value. The lease was assigned to
them by Lodowick Lloyd, **one of Her Majestie's
servants at arms", who had held the tithes direct from
the late Queen Elizabeth since 1587.

By her codicil, Anne, Lady Middelton, desires her
executor to settle £30 a year upon the minister of
Forden, for the time being, for ever, out of the tithes :
a stipend which he still receives ; though, with a whole-
some respect for the powers that be, she adds, " Provided
alwayes that if Parliament should there after settle any
constant and competent maintainance for the minister
of the said parish" the bequest would lapse. This,
Parliament— -which in 1646 had succeeded in deposing
the Catholic Church from being the Church of the
nation — perhaps fortunately never did. By the inden-
ture, Sir John Witteronge accordingly settles them at
much length upon one Humfrey Taylor, to the use of
the county committee, upon trust for the ministry of
Forden.

It remains to be added that Anne, Lady Middelton,
was the daughter of Gerrard Vanacker, a merchant of
Antwerp, and widow of Jacob Witteronge, of London.
She married, as his fourth wife, Sir Thomas Middelton,
Lord Mayor of London in 1613, who purchased Chirk
Castle from Lord St. John of Bletso, in 1595, and was

^ Probably identical with the ])urchaser of Tong Castle.

2 Richard More of Linley succeeded to the estates of More, Larden,
and Linley on the death of Jasper More of Larden, Esq., in 1613.
He married a eister of Sir Thomas Harries, Bart., was High Sheriff in
1G19, M.P. for Bishop's Castle in the Long Parliament, and died
December 6th, 1643.

3 Matthew Herbert of Dolgiog was descended from a younger
brother of William Herbert, first Earl of Pembroke. He married
Anne, daughter and heiress of Charles Foxe of Oakley, and lived in
the Priory House. Their grandson, Richard Herbert, on this residence
being burnt down, moved to a house standing on the site of Oakley
Park, and built a portion of the present mansion.

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FORDEN TITHES. 267

M.P. for Merionethshire in 1597-28. Lady Middelton
was buried at Harpenden on January 21st, 1646. Sir
John Witteronge, of Rothamstead, was Lady Middelton s
son by her fii-st marriage. He was three times married :
firstly, to Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Middelton,
the Parliamentarian General ; secondly, to Elizabeth,
daughter of Timothy Middelton, of Stanstead Mont-
fichet, Esq. ; and, thirdly, to Katharine, daughter of
Maurice Tomson, merchant of London. Sir John was
buried at Harpenden on June 23rd, 1693.

The following is the text of this quaint and interest-
ing old deed : —

This Indbntueb quadripartite made the sixe and twentieth
day of June in the year of our Lord One Thousand six hundred
flTorty and nine Between S'r John Wittewronge of Kotharasted ^
in the County of Hartford Knight sonne and heire and executor
of the last will and testament of Dame Anne Middle ton late of
Rothamsted aforesajd widow deceased of the first part Hurafry
Taylor^ gentleman servant of the sayd S*r John Wittewronge
of the second part S'r Edward Llojd of Birth Llojd in the
County of Mountgomery Knight Eichard GriflBth of Sutton in
the sayd County of Mountgomery Esquier Robert Griffith of
Sutton aforesaid Esq'e Lodwick Lewis of Llandynnham^ Richard
Lloyd of Moughtre and Edmond Pryce* of PuUan in the sayd
County of Mountgomery Gentleman of the third part And
Richard Read, John Sanders, Abraham Smith, Richard Wareing,
Thomas T urges, George Hadley, Jeffery Howland, Matthew

^ Rothamsted Manor, near St. Albans, is now owned by Sir John
Lawes, Bart., a well-known authority in agriculture.

^ Humfry Taylor, whose name appears only to satisfy the exigencies
of the form of Trust, is styled indifferently "gentleman" and
" servant to Sir John Wittewronge".

^ Llandinam Hall, which was formerly the residence of Capt. Offley
Crewe-Read, R.N., to whom it had come by inheritance from the
Reads, was purchased in 1688 by a member of that family, John
Read, High Sheriff for Montgomeryshire in 1696. It is now the
pro|»erty of Mr. David Davies.

* Edmond Pryce was a younger brother of Captain Richard Price
of Gunley, who is one of the witnesses signatory to this Indenture.
He married Catherine, daughter of Edward Tannatt of Trewylan and
of Jane Payne of Argoed, and his son, Richard Pryce of Trewylan,
was High Sheriff for Montgomeryshire in 1 728.

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268 FORDEN TITHES.

Shepperd, Tobie Lisle, Samuel I Harusnett, Thomas Stock and
William Parker, Citizens and Grocers of London of the ffoarth
part Whereas SV Thomas Middelton^ late of London Knight
and Alderman and SV Hugh Middelton Baronett* by their
Indenture bearing date the ffiye and Twentieth day of December
in the sixth yeare of the rayne of the late King Charles^ did
for the considerac'ons mentioned therein grant Bargain and
sell Vnto one Joseph Maye of St. Neott in the County of Corn-
wall gentleman and his heires All that the Eectory and
Church of Austell in the sayd County of Cornwall with all the

^ Lord Mayor of London. He was the fourth son of Richard
Middletou, Governor of Denbigh Castle, and Jane Dryhurst, and a
direct descendant through the Middletons of Denbighshire from "
Robert de Middleton, youngest son of the heiress, Cecilia de Middle-
ton of Middleton.

Philip de Middleton and his descendants resided at Middleton in
Chirbury, until Rowland Middleton and his son Richard sold their
estate in the reign of James I. There is a tablet of great antiquarian
interest to a member of this family in Chirbury Church.

Sir Thomas Middleton was a merchant, and a citizen and Grocer of
London, and traded with Antwerp. He was a benefactor of the
Grocers* Company, and it is recorded that, on August 21st, 1721,
" yt pleased the Right Worshipfull Knight S' Thomas Middleton to
make a very religious speach and exhortation to the whole assemblie
of the Misterie of the Grocerie of London". Besides Chirk Castle, in
1615, he purchased another residence, Stansted Montfichet, in Essex,
and died there' on August 12th, 1631.

*^ Sir Hugh Middleton, Bart., brother to the Lord Mayor, was the
celebrated projector of the New River, made to supply London with
water. He was bom in lo55, and in 1611 the Corporation of London
made over to him their powers, acquired by Act of Parliament, in the
reign of James I, to bring water from Amwell to London. After
many difficulties the scheme was carried out, King James I himself
having taken over a moiety of the undertaking and paid half the
expense.

The capital of the New River Undertaking was at first divided
into thirty-six shares, held by the Incorporated Adventurers, and
thirty-six shares held by the King. These he afterwards parted with.
The enormous profits of the New River, subsequently, were but little
dreamt of, for the dividends for the first nineteen years did not exceed
12«. per share. What they now reach may be judged by the price
realised in 1880 for one Adventurer's share, viz., £94,800, and for a
King's share from £94,000 to £97,000.

Sir Hugh Middleton died in 1631. His descendant, Sir Hugh
Middleton, the sixth and last baronet, died in extreme poverty in
1757. 3 1630.

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FORDEN TITHES. 269

rights members and appurtenances thereof and all the messuage
Lands Tenements feedings pastures woods underwoods Tythes
hereditaments and appurtenances of the sayd Rectory and
Church belonging or in any way appertayning And the
Reverc'on and Reverc'ons Remainder and Remainders of all
and singuler the premisses To haue and to hold vnto the said
Joseph Maye his heires and assignes forever yeilding and pay-
ing therefor yearly vnto the sayd S'r Thomas Middelton his
heires and assignes the yearly Rent or sum'e of seaven and
Twenty pounds current English money on the ffeast day of
St Michaell the Archangell or within Thirty dayes after the sayd
ffeast day which yearly Rent or sume of seaven and Twenty
pounds the sayd Joseph Maye did by the same Indenture for
himself his heires executors and administrators covenant and
graunt to pay Vnto the sayd S*r Thomas Middelton his heires
and assignes on the sayd ffeast day of St. Michaell the Arch-
angell yearly forever and within Thirty dayes after the sayd
ffeast day at the Chamberlen's office at the Guildhall within
the citty of London as by the same Indenture amongst other
things it may further appeare And whereas S'r Thomas
Middelton of Chirk Castle^ in the County of Denbigh Knight

^ Sir Thomas Middleton,the celebrated Parliamentarian commander,
was the eldest son of the Lord Mayor, by Hester, second daughter of
Sir Richard Saltonstall, Aldennan of London. He was born in 1586,
and was admitted to Gray's Inn, February 7th, 1 606-7. He married
(1) Margaret, daughter and heiress of George Saville of Wakefield,
Ksq., and (2) Mary, daugliter of Sir Robert Napier of Luton Hoo,
Bart

On his marriage, in 1612, his father settled on him the estate and
castle of Chirk, which has descended from him to the present owner,
Mr. Richard Myddelton Biddulph. In 1640 he was a Member of the
Long Parliament, and on May 26th, 1643, he was appointed Sergeant-
Major General of the Parliamentarian forces in North Wales.
Receiving intelligence that Prince Rupert's regiment of horse was
quartered at Welshpool, he marched there ; and with the assistance
of Captain Mytton, captured 400 horse, ruining that line regi-
ment. Montgomery Castle next taken, and the Royalists defeated
after a fierce and doubtful struggle, Sir Thomas Middleton marched
on Powis Castle, and entered it, with the loss of but one man, in
October, 1644. The Commons' Journals of October 10th, 1644, con-
tain the following entry : — ** Letter read from Sir Thomas Middleton
of Oct. 3 from Red Castle stating that he had taken by storm the said
Castle and Lord Powes and many other prisoners."

Besides Lord Powis, his brother and two sons, there were taken a
seminary priest, three captains, one lieutenant, eighty officers and

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270 FORDEN TITHES.

to secure the said yearly pay't of seaven and Twenty pounds
did after the death of the sayd S'r Thomas Middelton of London
Knight and Alderman by his Indenture bearing date the Eight
& Twentieth daye of November in the ffoureteenth yeare of the
raigne of the late King Charles^ bargaine and sell or it
is herein mentioned that he did thereby giue graunt bargaine
and sell to the sayd Dame Anne Middelton and her heires the
sayd yearly Kent of Seaven and Twenty pounds To haue and
TO HOLD the sayd yearly Rent of Seaven and Twenty pounds by
the sayd within recited Indenture graunted to the sayd Dame
Anne Middelton vnto the only vse and behoofe of the sayd
Dame Anne Middelton her heires and assignes forever As by
the same Indenture may further appeare And whereas the sayd
S'r Thomas Middelton the sonne for the further assureing of
the sayd yearly Rent vnto the sayd SV John Wittewronge and
his heires according to the intent of a covenant to this behoofe
conteyned in the sayd last recited Indenture and in considera-
tion of a sum^e of money to him payd by the sayd SV John
Wittewronge Did since the decease of the sayd Dame Anue
Middelton by the Indenture bearing date the ffourteenth day
of March next before the date thereof graunt bargaine and sell
to the sayd S'r John Wittewronge the sayd yearly Rent of Seaven
and Twenty pounds and all his rights Tythes and interests and
estate of in or vnto the same To haue and to hold to the sayd
S'r John Wittewronge and his heirs and assignes forever to the
Vse and behoofe of the sayd S'r John Wittewronge his heires
and assignes forever as by the sayd Indenture may further
appeare And whereas the said S'r Thomas Middelton the
Sonne by his Indenture bearing date the Twelveth day of
flTebruary in the sayd ffourteenth yeare of the raigne of the sayd
late King Charles and within six monethes next after the date
thereof enrolled in the Chancery according to the fforme of the
Statute in that case provided did for the considerac'ons therein

common soldiers, forty horses, and two hundred arms. William, first
Baron Powis, had married Eleanor, daughter of the eighth Earl of
Northumberland. He was afterwards sent to the Tower, and died in
1655.

Sir Thomas Middleton went through many vicissitudes, and suffered
great losses during the Civil Wars.

Some fifteen years later, in 1659, he joined the "Cheshire Rising"
in favour of the King, and after the Long Parliament dissolved, in
1660 he assisted by his vote and hifluence in the restoration of tlie
Monarchy. He died in 1 666, aged 78, and is buried at Chirk.

1 1641.

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FORDEN TITHES. 271

mentioned bargaine and sell to John Jones and Humfry Jones^
gentlemen and their heires All that the Rectory Church or
Chappell of fforden in the County of Montgomery with all
rights members and appurtenances whatsoever togeather with
all manner of tithes of Com Grayne Haye and all other Tithes
oblac'ons profitts commodities and emoluments whatsoever
with the appurtenances in flTorden Heime aFs Heme aPs little
Heime^ al's Heme Kelikewith* flTording al's fforden Naucreba*
aFs Nancriba penylane* Brinkendreth al's Cackley® al's Hackley
Llettinwinwarth^ vnto the sayd Chappell Eectory or Church of
fforden al's ffording belonging to many and apperteyning some
times in the tenure or occupac'on of Henry Mack Williams
Esq'e and Dame Mary Cheke his wife or their assignes or the
assignes of either of them and by particuler thereby mentioned
to be worth the yearly rent or value of eight pounds eight
shillings and Three pence and some time were a parcell of the
possessions of the late priory of Chirbury And all and all
manner of woods vnderwoods Trees and copices and the lands
and scytes of the same And alsoe all and singuler sites
messuages granges Mills houses buildings structures barnes
stables orchards gardens shopps cellers lands tenements
meadowes pastures feedings commons wayes Demeasne lands
Gleabe lands wasts ffurses bruery moores Marshes woods
vnderwoods Tythes of Come and grayne and hay wooU fflaxe

^ The Forden Tithes were conveyed to John and Humfrey Jones,
two men of straw, in trust for Anne Lady Middleton.

2 Great and Little Hem are two farms in Fordeu parish.

8 Kilkewydd bridge crosses the Severn on the road from Welshpool
to Forden.

* Nantcribba, or Cribba*8 Dingle, stands close upon Offa's Dyke in
Forden. For many generations it was the residence of a Devereux.
By his will, dated November 16th, 1736, Arthur Devereux of Nant-
cribba bequeathed it to his trustees, ** my trusty and well beloved
friends and Relations the Hon*ble Price Devereux of Sudbourn in
the County of Suffolk Esq're and Richard Mytton of Garth in the
County of Mountgomery Esq're", in trust for various members of the
name of Devereux, through whom it descended to the present Lord
Herefordl He sold it, about 1860, to the late Mr. John Naylor of
Leighton Hall. In the preceding generation Lord Hereford was
resident at Nantcribba.

^ Penylan Farm in Forden belonged to Lord Sudeley.

• The township of Ackley includes Ackley Farm on the Gunley
estate.

^ Llettygynfach (Cynfach's Lodging or Inn) is a farm belonging to
the Gunley estate.

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272 Borden tithes.

hempe and Lambes and all other Tythes whatsoever as well
greater or less'r aswell named as not named^ And alsoe all
oblac'ons obventions flfruits oflferings profitts advantages rents
reserved vpon any demises or grants whatsoever payments for
Tythes or in satisfaction for Tythes or oblac'ons and other
comodities whatsoever of what kinde or nature soever they bee
or by what name or names soever they are called or knowne
with their appurtey nances scituate lyeing and beeing coming
growing or renewing within the County villages Townshipps
ffeilds places parish or hamletts aforesayd or in or within every
or any of them or elsewhere whatsoever belonging and appur-
teyning to the sayd Chappell Tythes and premisses herein last
before mentioned or at any time theretofore accepted knowne
vsed occupied or reputed as part parcell or member of the
sayd Chappell Tythes and premises or any part thereof And
the Keverc'on and Reverc'ons whatsoever of all and singuler
the sayd last mentioned premisses with the appurtenances
To HAUB AND TO HOLD the sayd Chappell Tythes and p'emisses
amongst other things Vnto the sayd John Jones and Hum-
frey Jones their heires and assignes to the only and proper vse
and behoofe of the sayd John Jones and Humfry Jones foi-ever
as by the same Indenture may further appeare Which sayd
Rectory Tithes and premisses were purchased by the sayd Dame
Anne Middelton in the names of the sayd John Jones and
Humfry Jones in trust for her and her heires And wheeeas
shee the sayd Dame Anne Middelton had purchased of the
sayd S'r Thomas Middelton^ the sayd Rectory and Tythes of
fforden in the sayd County of Mountgomery and likewise the
sayd ffee ffarme Rent^ of Twenty seaven pounds per annum
yssueing and goeing out of the sayd Rectory of Austell in the
County of Cornewall both which being of the yearly value of

1 A truly inclusive list. It will not escape notice that out of the
twenty-nine concluding items enumerated in this schedule, seventeen
are mis-spelt according to present custom.

2 By a post-nuptial settlement dated 13th June, 4 Car., 1628, Lady
Middleton had acquired a life interest in the Forden tithes from her
husband ; and on 24th February, 1632-3, she and her trustees had
assigned them to her step-son, the second Sir Thoma« Middleton.

3 A fee-farm-rent is when an estate in fee is granted subject to a
lent in fee of at least a fourth of the value of the income at this time
of its reservtttiiMi. It is so called because a grant reserving so con-
siderable a rent is indeed only letting out property to farm in fee
simple, instead of the usual method of life or years.

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FORDEN TlTHfiS. 273

one hundred and ffive pounds^ by the yeare or thereabouts
shee did thereby give and Devise the sayd Rectory and Tythes
and the said ffee ffarme Rent vnto lier sayd Executor to the
end that hee might within two whole yeares of her decease
well and suflBciently convey the same to the Company and
Society of Grocers^ in London in flfee or to some members of
that Company in such sort as Counsell should Deuise the Rents
and profitts whereof shee did thereby appoynt limitt and
declare should bee receaved by the Wardens and Assistants of
the sayd Company for the time being forever and by them dis-
tributed and disposed of in manner and flTorme following
That is to say flforty pounds a yeare thereof shee did thereby
declare and appoynt should bee given and distributed yearly
by the sayd Wardens and Assistants or some of them at or
before any feast day of the nativity of our Lord God for the
Redeeming and releaving of poore prisoners *out of the prisons

^ That is to say, the two together being worth £[0o a-year. Forden
Tithes alone were then worth £78 a-yeai*.

2 The Grocers* Company was founded in 13-45. The leading fra-
ternities assumed generally the character of Corporations in the reign
of Edward III, and their privileges were confirmed by letters-patent.
Like the Weavers, founded in 1164, the Saddlers in 1280, the Fish-
mongers in 1284, and the Skinners and the Goldsmiths in 1327, this
society was founded mainly for the relief of poorer members. The
character of these societies included religious observances and com-
mon feasts, their authority extending to the general welfare, spiritual
and temporal, of members. Several had the management of vast
funds, bequeathed (as here) by benevolent persons, who selected one
or other of the guilds-merchant as trustees. In the most recent
development of the ancient guilds, viz., the modern trades-unions,
most of their inherent vices with none of their many virtues would
seem to have appeared. A great blow was struck at the guilds all
over England by Henry VIII, who confiscated their property, like
that of the Church, on the plea that it was used for superstition.
Tho great London guilds alone survive, having redeemed their
property by payment to the King of a fine of £18,700.

^ Prisoners for debt. After the abolition of imprisonment for debt,
this annuity, no longer applicable, was redeemed by the payment of a
capital sum, and was applied under a scheme of the Charity Commis-
sioners to the foundation of a middle-class school at Hackney. The
£10 to Christ's Hospital, £10 to poor men and women, and £20 to
niinistera* widows, were similarly dealt with ; but the Grocers'
Company still give £10 at Christmas to any clergyman's widow over
fifty years of age whose income is less than £70, out of their own
funds, in the name of Lady Middleton's charity.

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274 FORDEN TITHES.

in or about London And her will and meaning was That not
one prisoner should have of that her guift towards his or her
enlargement as aforesayd above the sum'e of ffourty shillings
except they were such prisoners whom the sayd Wardens and
Assistants or some part of them did knowe to be especiall
obiects of charitie wherein her will was that they should not
exceed Three pounds apeece And that every prisoner that
should receave any of the sayd guifb bee forthwith sett at large
Tenn pounds a yeare more thereof shee did thereby declare
and appoynt should bee yearoly payd by the sayd Wardens and
Assistants or some of them to the Treasurer and Grovernor of
Christ Hospitall in London to and for the reliefe of the poore
children of the same Hospitall ffive pounds a yeare more
therof shee did thereby declare and appoynt should bee payd
by the wardens and Assistants of the sayd company for the
time being or some of them to the Church wardens of the
parish of Westham in the county of Essex^ for the releife and
beter maintainance of the poore of the sayd parish which shee
did will should bee distributed by the minister churchwardens
and overseers for the poore of the same parish as followeth
(viz't) for the placeing of one poore boy apprentice of the sayd
parish every yeare the yearely sum'e of Three pounds and the
sum'e of ffourty shillings to and amongst Twenty of the poorest
and most impotent people within the sayd parish and her
meaning was to every one of them Two shillings vpon the Eve
of the ffeast day of the nativity of our Lord God yearely Twenty
pounds more thereof shee did thereby declare and appoynt
should bee yearely payd forever to Tenn poore Ministers*
widowes (viz*t) to euery one of them fforty shillings a peece
and Tenn pounds more thereof shee did thereby declare and
appoynt should be yearely payd forever to Tenn poore men and
women that are aged and past labor or otherwise made impo-
tent as the sayd wardens and assistants in their discretions
shold thinke fitt which sayd last mentioned yearely sum'es of
Twenty pounds & Tenn pounds per Annum she willed should
be distributed as aforesayd at or before the ffeast day of the
nativity of our Lord God yearly And shee gave and bequeathed
fforty shillings p. annum more thereof vnto the Company of
Grocers for their care and paynes in the disposing and dis-
tributing of the said penc'ons and legacies fforty shillings per
annum more thereof she did giue to the clarke of the sayd
company for the time being for his paynes and care in the
procuring of the sayd Rents and Profitts to bee duly payd

^ Sir Thomas and Lady MiddJeton had a residence in Essex.

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KORDKN TITHES. 275

according to thiit hdr will And shee did give and boqaeath
Three pounds Tenn shillings more thereof to the Seaven Almes-
men of the Company of Grocers That is to say Tenn shillings
per annum a peece And shee did give and bequeath ffi\re

pounds per annum more thereof to Mrs then

inhabiting neare London dureing her Hfe And shee

did give and bequeath five pounds a yeare to Anna Bufkin
widow dureing her life^ And all the rest and residue of the
profitts of the sayd Tythes and £fee ffarme Rent aforesayd shee
left to be disposed of by the sayd Wardens and Assistants for
the releife of such poore persons as they in their discretion
should think fitt. In the distribuc'ou of which Legacies guifts
and penc'ons as aforesayd shee did thereby will and earnestly
desire that the sayd Warden and Assistants would have pre-
ference afterwards of such persons as her sonne S'r John
Wittewronge should recommend to them And whbkbas the
said Dame Anne Middleton by a Codicill bearing date the
ninth day of December in the yeare of our Lord God One
Thousand Six Hundred fforty and Six annexed to her sayd will
reciting amongst other things That shee had by her will de-
vised and given the Tythes of the Rectory of fforden in the
sayd County of Mountgomory vnto her said executor to bee by
him conveyed in ffee vnto the Society and company of Grocers
or to some members of the sayd society and had limitted and
appoynted the rents and profitts thereof to bee received by the
Wardens and Assistants for the time being of the sayd Com-

^ The benefiictions of Lady Middleton were thus as follows : —

£ *. d.

40 for relief of poor prisonenj.

10 for relief of poor children at Christ's Hospital.

5 for the poor of West Ham.

20 for ten poor clergymen's widows.

10 for ten aged poor men and women.

2 to the Grocers' for their trouble in the distribution.

2 to their clerk for his trouble in the collection.

3 10 for the seven almsmen of the Grocers' Company.
5 life interest for a lady living near London.

.5 life interest for Mrs. Bufkin.

102 10

The residence was for the poor, at the discretion of the Grocers'
Company. Thus the whole income oi LiOo per annum was specifi-
cally allocated. Subsequently, by codicil, £30 a year out of this
was to be deducted for the endowment of the living of Forden.
VOU XXX. U

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276 FORDEN TITHES.

pany forever by them to bee distributed and disposed of to
several! charitable vses formerly expressed It was then her
will and desire and shee did thereby declare and appoynt That
whereas the parish of fforden aforesayd had noe Rectory or
Vicarage endowed nor noe maintainance setled for a minister to
officiate and discharge the sayd Cure That her sayd executor
should have full power and authoritie to settle and convey unto
the Minister for the time being that should officiate in the sayd
Cure for ever the "yearly penc'on of Thirty pounds per Annum^
out of the profitts and Tythes of the sayd Rectory of fforden
which sayd Thirty pounds per Annum shee willed should bee
setled by her sayd executor vpon the Minister of the sayd
church (for the time being) for ever before any such conveyance
bee made vnto the Society of Grocers in London as is by her
sayd will before appoynted and that her sayd Executor should
have full power to deduct and take away the sayd Thirty
pounds per Annum out of such of her chargable guifts and
bequests as to him should seem best and most convenient
Provided alwayes and shee did thereby will and declare that
if the Parliament should there after settle any constant and
competent maintainance for the Minister of the sayd parish
That then the profitts ariseing from the sayd Rectory should
wholly bee disposed of as was by her will formerly appoynted
as by the sayd Will and Codicill being duly proved and Regis-
tered in the prerogative Court may further appeare And
Whereas after the death of the sayd Dame Anne Middelton the
sayd John Jones to whom by the death of the sayd Humfrey
Jones the sayd Rectory and premisses in the sayd County of
Mountgomery did accrewe by right of surviveing did in
execuc'on of the sayd Trust in him the sayd John Jones by the
sayd Dame Anne Middelton reposed and for enabling the sayd
S*r John Wittewronge to convey them and according to the
true interest and meaning of the sayd last will and Testament
of the sayd Dame Anne Middelton and for the sum'e of ffive
shillings in money to him by the sayd S'r John Wittewronge
payd Did by his Indenture bearing date the nineteenth day
of June last and within six monethes next after dat-e thereof
duely enrolled in the Chancery according to the fforme of the
Statute in that case provided bargaine and sell the sayd
Rectory and premisses in the said County of Mountgomery to
the said S'r John Wittewronge and his heires as by the same

^ The Vicars of Forden have received this £30 a year from 1649 up
to the present day, in addition to £177 a year liberally added to the
stipend by the Grocers* Company out of their own funds.

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FORDEN TITHES. 277

Indentare may farther appeare And whereas the sayd S'r
John Wittewronge by his Indenture bearing date the day next
before the date hereof did in considerac'on of ffive shillings of
lawfall money of England to him by the sayd Hamfrey Taylor
before the sealing thereof payd bargaine and sell to the sayd
Hamfrey Taylor All the Tythes of Com grayne and hay yearly
comeing increasing or renewing in Pennylan and Brin Penacty
in the sayd County of Mountgomery to the sayd Rectory Church
or Chappell of flFording aFs fforden aVs fforthen belonging or
apperteyning And all the Tythes of wooU fflaxe hempe lambes
and other small Tythes and ofirings yearely comeing hapening
increaseing or renewing in or out of great Heime al's Heme
and little Heime aVs Hem aforesayd Kelikewith fiTording al's
fforden al's fforthon Nantcreaba al's Nancriba Penylane Brin-
kindreth Cackley aVa Ackley Llettinwinwarth or elsewhere
vnto the sayd church or chappell belonging or apperteyning
To HAOB AND TO HOLD vuto the Said Humfrey Taylor and his
heires from the last day of May.

(Here the parchment ends, but continues on another folio).

as by the same Indenture may further appeare By virtue
whereof and of the Statute for transferring of Vses in posses-
sion the sayd Humfrey Taylor is now possessed of the sayd
tythes and other premisses to him by the sayd last recited
Indenture bargained and sold with their and every of their
appurtenances As by the same Indenture may further appeare
Which sayd bargaine and sale soe made to the sayd Humfrey
Taylor as aforesayd was soe made to him to the intent that the
reverc'on and inheritance of the sayd Tythes and premisses
thereby bargained or sold might be conveyed to the sayd
Humfrey Taylor and his heires to the vses and vpon and vnder
the Trusts and confidences and to the intents and purposes
hereafter in these presents mentioned And whereas there is no
perpetuall minister^ or other person rector or vicar of the sayd
Parish Church of fforden who hath right or capacitie in Lawe
to take or receive any estate of inheritance or other thing in
succession but the minister for the time officiateing and serve-
ing the Cure there is in the name of a Stipendiary and the
nominac'on of him belongeth to the Impropriator of the sayd
Rectory for the time being Now this indenture witnesseth

^ As might be expected at this period, the word " Minister" ia used
throughout this document in preference to " priest", which was the
customary expression before and after the Reformation, until, about
1 640, the Puritan movement had gained its full strength.

U 2

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278 FORD EN TITHKS.

that in pursuance of the will and desire of Dame Anne Middel-
ton in this behalfe expressed in the sayd codicell and according
to the sayd declaration and appoyntment thereby made as
neere and as fair as hee the sayd SV John Wittewrongfe can
perform e the same and in pursuance and execuc'on of the
powers and authorities in any by the sayd codicell given to the
sayd S*r John Wittewrouge for the sotling of some meanes to
the value of Thirty pounds by the yeare for the main tai nance of
a minister to officiate and discharge the sayd Cure of the sayd
parish of fforden al's ffi)rding al's flfortlien aforesayd vntill the
Parlitiment shall settle some constant and competent main-
tainance for the ministry of the sayd parish and to deduct and
take away the sayd Thirty pounds by the yeare out of the sayd
charitable Vses the said S'r John Wittewronge Hath granted
released and conGrmed And by these presents doth grant
release and cou6nne to the sayd Hurnfrey Taylor and his heii^es
All the sayd Tythes and premisses to him the sayd Humfrey
Taylor by the sayd last recited Indenture bargained and sold
as aforesayd To have and to hold the sayd Tythes and other
the sayd premisses hereinbefore released or confirmed vnto the
sayd Humfrey Taylor his heires and assignes for ever to thb
VSE of the sayd SV Edward Lloyd Richard Griffith Robert
Griffith Lodwick Lewis Richard Lloyd and Edmond Price their
heires and assignes vntill the Parliament shall settle some
constant and competent maintainance for the minister for the
time being or for the ministry of the sayd Church or Chappell
of fforden al's ffording al's fforthen and from and i mediately
after such maintainanC'e settled Then to the vse and behoofe
of the sayd Richard Read John Sanders Abraham Smith
Richard Wareing Thomas Turges George Hadley Jeffery
Howland Matthew Sheperd Toby Lisle Samuell Harsnett
Thomas Stock and William Parker their heires and assignes
for ever Nevertheless it is hereby declared by all and every
the sayd parties to these presents That the sayd vse herein-
before limitted to the sayd SV Edward Lloyd Richard Griffith
Robert Griffith Lodwick Lewis Richard Lloyd Edmond Price
and their heires and assignes as aforesayd shall be limitted to
them vpon trust and confidence And it is hereby covenanted
graunted and agreed by them the sayd S*r Edward Lloyd
Richard Griffith Lodwick Lewis Richard Lloyd and Edmond
Price that the sayd Sir Edward Lloyd Richard Griffith Robert
Griffith Lodwick Lewis Richard Lloyd and Edmond Price and
the survivors and survivor of them and his and their heires
and assignes shall from time to time and at all times hereafter
vntill the Parliament shall settle some other constant and corn-

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FORDEN TITHES. *279

potent tnaintainance for the minister for the time being and
for the ministry of the sayd Church or Chappell of fiforden aVs
ffording aUs flTorthen aforesayd permitt and snffer such Minister
as from time to time shall lawfully and duly officiate and serve
the Cure within the sayd Church or Chappell of flTording al's
flTorthen aPs fforden aforesayd to have take recieve and enioy
all the sayd Tythes and premisses hereby granted released or
confirmed to his owne vse and behoofe for and dureing such
time only and for soe long as hee shalbe personally resident
and serve the Cure there without absence for above the space
of Three monthes togeather and not longer nor else nor other-
wise And it is hereby covenanted declared and agreed by and
between all and every the sayd parties to these p'esents for
them their heires and assignes That the sayd vse herein-
before limitted to the sayd Richard Read John Sanders
Abraham Smith Richard Wareing Thomas Turges George
Hadley JeflFery Howland Matthew Sheppard Tobie Lisle
Saniuell Harsnett Thomas Stock and William Parker as afore-
sayd is soe limitted to them vpon trust and confidence That
they from time to time and at all times after the Parliament shall
settle some constant and competent maintainance for the
minister or ministry of the sayd Church or Chappell of flTorden
aVs flTording aFs fforthen shalbe enabled to distribute and
dispose of all the sayd Tythes and premisses hereby granted
released or confirmed to such vses intents and purposes and in
such sort manner and flTorme as the sayd Dame Anne Middleton
by her sayd last will and testament hath directed the same to
bee distributed and disposed of as aforesayd and shall not doe
or wittingly or willingly suflTer to be done any act or thing
whereby the sayd premisses shall not or may not come or bee
to the same vses intents and purposes vntill the Parliament
shall settle some constant and competent maintainance for the
minister or ministry of the sayd Church or Chappell of flTorden
And it is further declared and agreed by and betweene all and
every the sayd parties to these p'esents for them and their
heires And the present Indenture and the conveyance hereby
made is made vpon the future Trust and Confidence That is
to say that when and soe often as there shall not bee above the
number of Three persons liveing of the said S'r Edward Lloyd
Richard Griffith Robert Griffith Lodwick Lewis Richard Lloyd
and Edmond Price or such others to whom the sayd Tythes and
premisses hereby granted shalbee hereafter granted or conveyed
according to the true meaning of these p'esents that then and
soe often (in case there shall not bee hereafter such constant
and competent maintainance by the Parliam't for the Minister

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280 KORDBN TtTHER.

or Ministry of the sayd Church or Chappell) then such of the
sayd SV Edward Lloyd Richard Griffith Robert Griffith Lodwick
Lewis Richard Lloyd and Edmond Price or such of their
assignes as shalbee then liveing shall from time to time vp6n
the request and at the coste and charges in the Law of the
minister of the sayd Church or Chappell for the time being make
and execute such grants and conveyances of the sayd Ty thes and
premisses hereby granted that the same may bee from time to
time settled in such of them as shalbee then liveing and such
other fitt persons then inhabiting within the County of Mount-
gomery, and not within the sayd parish to bee from time to
time named and elected by the Minister and Churchwardens of
the sayd Church or Chappell of fforden aforesayd for the time
being or the maior part of them as togeather with such of the
sayd SV Edward Lloyd Richard Griffith Robert Griffith Lodwick
Lewis Richard Lloyd and Edmond Price or their assignes as
shalbee then liveing and not inhabiting in the sayd parish
shall make up the number of six persons and to their heires
and assignes mbverthbles vpon and vnder the same Trust and
to the same intents and purposes as are herin before limitted
and declared concemin the same Tythes

In witness whereof the partyes above sayd to theis p'esent
Indentures Interchangeably haue sett their hands.

Memorand* that im'ediately after the within named SV
John Wittewronge had sealed and delivered the Indenture of
bargayne and sale within recited to the within named Humfrey
Taylor and that he had accepted thereof assented therevnto and
sealed the Counterp'te thereof this Indenture was sealed and
delivered by the sayd SV John Witteronge to the saydHumfry
Taylor who accepted thereof assented therevnto and sealed the
Counterparte thereof all which was soe donne in the p'sence of

Row: Jbwkes.
Rich: Pkice.^
Tho:

Row: Jenkins.

1 Captain Richard Pryce of Gunley was ths eldest son of " Edward
Prj's of Gunley Esq**, whose name is the last entry on the original
parchment pedigree signed by Lewis Dwnn, Deputy Herjald in the
Visitation of 1609. He served in the Roundhead Army, probably
with Sir Thomas Middleton. He was twice married : firstly, in July
1640 to Mary, daughter of John Trotman, of Peers Court, Esq., in
Gloucestershire. His second wife, Rosamond, Mrs. Pryce of Gunley,

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t'ORDEN TITHES.

281

" Sealed and deliu'red by all the w'thin named Trustees for
the Companie of Grocers in ye presence of

Jivni^ijtfCj

^iu:£f^

survived him. He was one of the VVelah meml)ers of the Long
Parliament, and was a member of the Indemnification Committee for
North Wales, sitting at Ruthin August 18th, 1646. He was High
Sheriff of Montgomerj'shire in 1651, and his name is on the roll of
county magistrates for that county, 2 Charles II, 1661. In 1651,
two years after the date of Dame Anne Middleton's Indenture, he
leased the Forden Tithes from the Grocers' Company for twenty-two
years at a rent of £54 per annum ; and by deed dated July 26th,
1666, he assigned them to Henry Purcell of Nantcribba, Esq., for
X59 per annum.

Captain Richard Pryce's Will was proved at S. Asaph in 1675.
His portmit, by Dobson, K.A., is at Gunley.

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282

ROADS, BRIDGES, CANALS, AND RAILWAYS
IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE.^

By CHARLES E. HOWELL, Rhiewport.

{Continued from Vol, xvi, p. 22.)

Wk now turn to what may be safely stated to be the
most important period, natnely, the introduction of
railways into the county, leaving for the present the
few final remarks upon the expiration of the different
Turnpike Trusts and other subjects already treated.

On August 4th, 1853, the royal assent was given to
** An Act for making a Railway from Llanidloes, in the
County of Montgomery, to Newtown, in the same
county, to he called * The Llanidloes and Newtown
Railway'", and for other purposes (16 nnd 17 Victoria,
c. cxliii) ; and the first directors named in that Act
were George Hammond Whalley (the then Member for
Peterborough), William Lefeaux, 1'homas Edmund
Marsh, Thomas Hay ward, Edmund Cleaton, William
Cleaton, Richard Holmes, Ellis Jones, Edward Rees,
John Jones, Thomas Davies, and William Parry.

The railway was to commence in or near to *^a
certain pasture field called Erwfongam, in the township
of Cilmachallt, otherwise Cilfachallt, in the County of
Montgomery, reputed to belong to the Right Honour-
able Edward Pryce Lloyd, Lord Mostyn", and to

^ Since the hist Article ou this suhject was published (April 1883),
fifteen years have elapsed ; and, as might be expected, many contri-
butors have passed away, and among them the writer of the previous
Articles, Abraham Howell, of Rhiewport, who died on November 1 2th,
1893, and whose son now appropriately takes up the threads of the
hiatory. — Ei>.

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ROADS, ETC., tX MOXTGOMERYSHlRK. 283

terminate " in or near to a certain field in the parish
of Newtown, in the said County of Montgomery,
situate at the back or on the south side of, and
adjoining to a dwelling-house and premises reputed to
belong to George Green."

The length of this line was about llf miles, and the
authorised capital £60,000.

The above Act, however, remained in abeyance,
and, as will be seen hereafter, the Company obtained
an^extension of the period for completion of the rail-
way.

On October 24th, 1854, a public meeting was held in
the Town Hall in Welshpool, to take into consideration
the best means of promoting a railway from Oswestry
to Welshpool and Newtown. The Mayor (E. T. D.
Harrison, Esq.) presided, and there was a large atten-
dance of those interested, includinpr the late David
Pugh, Esq. (then Member for the Montgomery
Boroughs), Thomas Bowen, Esq., and a number of the
professional and business men of this enterprising
town.

The following is a report from the Shrewsbury
Chronicle of the result of that meeting, which was the
mainspring of the movement : —

** Railway from Newtown to Oswestry and Shrewsbury.

" At a Public Meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Welshpool,
convened by the Mayor, in compliance with a requisition numerously
signed, and held at the Town Hall, on Tuesday, the 24th day of
October, 1854, the Worshipful the Mayor in the chair, it was
resolved —

1. "That it is, iu the opinion of this meeting, of the utmost
importance to the welfare and prosperity of this county that every
exertion should be used for the formation of a Railway from Newtown
to Oswestry, or Shrewsbury, or both.

** Moved by Mr. Samuel Powell, and seconded
by Mr. Thomas Bowen, Banker.

2. " That the question whether or not the county is within many
years to have a Railway, or ever to have one suited to its position and
resources, may de|>end to a Bcrious extent upon the question whether

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284 ROADS, BRIDGES, CANAI^, AND PAILWaYs

a Bill is introduced for the purpose in the ensuing Session of Parlia-
ment ; and that, provided energetic measures are adopted, there are
good grounds for hoping that this may be accomplished.

" Moved by Mr. Oliver Jones, and seconded
by Mr. G. Parker.

3. " That to the attainment of either object a cordial union and
co-operation of all parties interested is an essential condition ; and the
parties present at this meeting pledge themselves individuaUy and
collectively to do all in their power for the prosecution of such union
and co-operation.

" Moved by Mr. T. B. Barrett, and seconded
by Mr. Kempster,

4. '* That an Association or Society shall be established (including
those who have already subscribed) to be called the Welsh Midland
Railway Association for the more effectual and systematic prosecution
of the objects contemplated by the three first resolutions, and that
conditions and regulations upon which the subscriptions are made
shall be such as to ensure to the Shareholders a full control over the
sums subscribed, and to exclude the possibility of their being sub-
jected to any expense or cost other than such as they shall themselves
expressly order.

" Moved by Mr. Howell, and seconded by
Mr. John Williams, Chemist

5. " That in the event of the Sheriff being prevailed upon to call a
public meeting, it is resolved that a deputation, consisting of the
Mayor, Mr. J. H, Williams, Mr. A. Howell, Mr. Williams (Druggist),
Mr. John Griflaths, and Mr. R. Owen (with power to add to their
number), do attend the County Meeting as representatives of the
sentiments of this meeting, and to express the cordial co-operation of
the inhabitants of the town of Welshpool in furtherance of any
scheme to unite Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Welshpool and Newtown by
means of Railways ; and that the same deputation do attend any
meetings which may be held in either of those towns with equal power
as representatives of the sentiments of this meeting.

** Moved by Mr. R. Owen, and seconded by
Mr. E. Pryce.

6. ** That the gentlemen forming the above deputation be requested
to wait upon the Earl of Powis the earliest convenient opportunity, to
ascertain the sentiments of his Lordship in reference to this or any
other Railway scheme.

" Moved by Mr. William Withy, and seconded
by Mr. J. H. Williams.

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is MONtGOM^RYSHiRE. 285

7. " That the Resolutions be advertised in the Shrewsbury Chronicle
and the Shrewsbury Journal,

" Moved by Mr. Edward Pryce, and seconded
by Mr. Samuel Powell.

8. " That the thanks of the meeting be given to the Mayor for his
promptness in calling the meeting, and for his able conduct in
the chair.

** Moved by Mr. Edward Evans, and seconded
by Mr. Robert Owen.

" Signed,

** Alfred Meredith,

« Town Clerk.''

Thus ended the first important railway meeting, and
our readers will perceive a business-like ring in the
proceedings as set out in the above resolutions. The
town of Welshpool must be credited with the establish-
ment of railway communication between Montgomery-
shire and the great centres of the kingdom, although
the primary inauguration of railway enterprise originated
locally in the Llanidloes and Newtown district.

A few days prior to this meeting, a number of the
townspeople had signed the first Subscription List,
which contained a proviso that no call should be made
before December 15th following, except for such sum
as might be necessary to pay the preliminary expenses,
the same not to exceed 2^. 6d. per share ; also a reser-
vation to themselves of the liberty of withdrawing from
the conti'act altogether after payment of the above-
mentioned sum.

The following are the names of the first subscribers :
— Ardideacon Clive, Edward Evans (Church Street),
Griffith Parker, Samuel Powell, Thomas Kempster,
William Humphreys (currier), A. Howell, John Williams
(shoemaker), Charles Morris. John Jones (grocer, Broad
Street), David Gwynne, Thomas Powell, John Bagga-
ley, Samuel Salter, Edward Morris (London House),
James Robarts, Robert Owen, Richard Rider, William
Rider, David Jehu, Thomas Mytton, Joseph Davies

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286 ROADS, BRIDOfiS, CANALS, AND tlAILWAVS

(tailor), Edward Pryce (mercer), David Bickerton
(glazier), Richard Jones (bootmaker), Ellis O. Jones
(mercer), John Williams (chemist), Oliver E. Jones,
Evan J. Bebb, William Withy, John Griffiths, Edward
Davies (tanner), Thomas Newill, Thomas Walford,
Edward Davies, William Y Clarke, John H. Williams,
Thomas B. Brown, John Pollock, Thomas Lewis, Thomas
Bedward, Charlotte Sayce, Samuel Harper and Son,
John Williams (confectioner), J. and H. Hickman,
James Eddowes, William Salter, George Jones (grocer),
Andrew and Son, William Bullock, John Humphreys,
Thomas Lloyd (maltster), Owen Jones, William
Williams, David Wall, and Thomas Withers. The
list also included Mr. John Edmunds (of Edderton),
who subscribed for the largest number of shares in the
list, and one or two other residents in the neighbour-
hood or connected with it.

The total number of shares taken was about six
hundred, representing £6,000 ; and such was the enthu-
siasm and indomitable energy shown by the promoters
in obtaining additional subscriptions throughout the
country, that by December 22nd following the meeting,
the amount signed for by two hundred and sixty sub-
scribers was no less than £189,250, out of a proposed
capital of £250,000.

Among those who were most energetic in promoting
the undertaking and obtaining the necessary capital,
may be mentioned the following : David Pugh, Esq.,
of Llanerchydol, then M.P. for the Montgomery
Boroughs ; Arthur James Johnes, Esq., of Garthmill ;
John Nay lor, Esq., of Leighton Hall ; Mi-s. Anne
Warburton Owen, of Glansevern ; and John Davies
Corrie, Esq., of Dysserth.

Amongst the professional men who were active in
canvassing the different districts through which the
line was projected, were Mr. Edward Williams and Mr.
Edward Oswell, solicitors in Oswestry ; Mr. A. Howell,
in Welshpool ; Messrs. John Powell Wilding, surgeon ;
George Farmer and John Mickleburgh, surveyors ;

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IN MONTOOMERYSHIRE. 287

William Wilding, solicitor ; and Benjamin Piercy,
engineer, in Montgomery; and Messrs. Charles Thomas
Woosnam and Thomas Lloyd, solicitors, in Newtown.
Further valuable assistance was also obtained from the
Rev. Samuel Roberts, of Llanbrynmair, and Mr. David
Howell, solicitor, of Machynlleth.

In the month of December the first prospectus was
issued, and contained the names of twelve provisional
directors, the chairman being William Ormsby Gore,
Esq., M.P., and the secretary, Mr. A. Howell. No
engineer was named, there being a considerable dif-
ference of opinion with respect to the appointment at
this early stage. The work of preparing the necessary
plans and sections had been done by Messrs. Robert
and Benjamin Piercy, of Montgomery, but it was pro-
posed that these gentlemen snould act under some
engineer of eminence. The list of these for selection
from included the names of Brunei, Stephenson, Locke,
Errington, Hawkshaw, Rendel, Fowler. Cubitt, Barlow,
and others.

The bankers named were The London Joint Stock
Bank, Messrs. Oroxon and Co., Oswestry, Messrs.
Beck and Co., Welshpool, and The North and South
Wales Bank, Newtown.

At this time a scheme was being projected for a line
to be called "The Direct Manchester and Milford
Haven Railway", on the broad gauge, from Pencader,
near the Tivy, in the county of Carmarthen, to
Llanidloes ; and amongst other powers to be applied
for was the purchase of the line between Llanidloes
and Newtown, and the alteration thereof from the
narrow to the broad gauge.

The promoters of the above scheme strongly advised
the construction of the Newtown and Oswestry line on
the same principle, one gentleman writing to the
secretary as follows : —

•* Two parties alone can object to the broad gauge : those
who pi*omote and subscribe to the scheme, and the portion of
the legislature before whom the Bill mast go. Those would be

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288 ROADS, BRIDGES, CANALS, AND RAILWAYS

opposing their own interests in resisting it, with the knowledge
that the broad guage will be the one laid down from Milford to
Llanidloes; and that the lines from Oswestry to Chester^ Man-
chester, Liverpool and Birkenhead, are, in fact, the property of
a broad gauge company who intend adapting those narrow
lines to the larger gauge as soon as practicable. To have,
therefore, a narrow gauge in the intermediate portion of the
country would be to lessen its utility, restrict the traflBc, and
render inharmonious in its working what might be constructed
free from any disability . . . Besides, taking the worst view —
that Oswestry eastwards and northwards may ever remain a
narrow-gauge line — there must be a break of gauge in such
case with you somewhere, and why not at Oswestry instead of
Llanidloes, thus availing yourself of the gauge that is easiest in
actioUy most rapid, lend destructive in wear, most mfe, and able to
accomplish more with the saine degree of power ?

The line from Pencader to Llanidloes has, however,
not been constructed ; and, moreover, in spite of the
advantages above referred to, every yard of broad
gauge railway in the Kingdom has since disappeared,
and the ordinary 4-ft. gauge taken its place.

The Newtown and Oswestry Bill passed the House
of Commons' Committee (of whom Sir Edmund Hayes
was the chairman) on May 7th, and the Lords (of
whom the Marquess of Winchester was the chairman)
on June 18th, 1855, and received the Royal Assent on
the 26th.

In the following month, on the success of the Bill
becoming known in Welshpool, a valuable presentation
of silver was made by the inhabitants of the town and
neighbourhood to Mr. Howell, the secretary, "in grate-
ful acknowledgment of his exertions in obtaining a
milway through the county of Montgomery".

At this point it may be of interest to notice the
means of transit available in the district at the period.
On alternate days the two stage-waggons ,belonging
respectively to Richard Jones and Robert Sockett, plied
between Shrewsbury and Welshpool. The latter was
a one-armed man ; but, in spite of this disadvantage,
was most active in assisting to load and unload the

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IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE 289

packages and perform other duties, by means of a steel
hook fixed at the point of his wooden limb. The other
carrier, *' Dick" Jones, of the " Pack Horse", was the
father of the well-known David, who was the first
mail-guard on the line between Shrewsbury and Aber-
ystwyth, and now senior passenger-guard on the Cam-
brian railways ; and who is able to detail, with possibly
some slight embellishment, his conversation with
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, on the occasion of his
taking charge of the Royal train to Machynlleth and
Aberystwyth in June 1896.

There were two stage-waggons going and returning
regularly each week between Machynlleth and Shrews-
bury, vid Mallwyd Can Office and Welshpool, belonging
to Evan Rees and Richard Griffiths. There was also a
stage- waggon belonging to John Morgan, plying every
week between Machynlleth and Newtown, and another
belonging to Rowland Jones, ** Cross Pipes", between
Machynlleth and Llanidloes. From other rural parishes
to the towns there were carts or waggons, such as that
of Richard Hughes from Llanbrynmair to Newtown.

Then there was the packet, or fly-boat, on the
Shropshire Union Canal, between Rednal on the
Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, and Newtown. This
was carried on for some time under the supervision of
the Company's engineer, Mr. Edward Johnes, but was
discontinued by reason of damage done to the banks
by the wash from the boat, the speed being from eight
to ten miles an hour. Moreover, it was understood to
be somewhat unprofitable in other respects.

We must not omit the four-horse mail coaches so
admirably equipped by the Smiths, of Chester, the
Lloyd family, and other contractors, which ran between
Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth daily. The first of these
had been licensed, to commence with, to run from
Shrewsbury to Newtown, and was driven by Mark
Herbert. The route was then varied, and, steered by
Tustin and Wigram, with Powell and Rose as guards,
it traversed the old second district of roads already

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290 ROADS, ETC., IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE.

referred to, by way of Llanfair-ctvereinion, Can Office,
over Bwlchyfedwen, and by Mallwyd Cemmaes and
Machynlleth. Subsequently it resumed its former
route, by way of Newtown, Carno, over Talerddig, and
by Llanbrynmair.

There was also a daily coach called ** The Engineer",
between Oswestry and Aberystwyth. It was driven
first by Herbert and afterwards by Andrews, with the
celebrated Jack Goodwin as guard. " The Nettle,"
driven by Matthews, and '* The Royal Oak" by John
Hilton, went from Newtown to Oswestry. These were
afterwards driven by Martindale and Howes.

{To be continued.)

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291

THE PRiE.REFORMA.TION GRAMMAR
SCHOOL OF MONTGOMERY.

By D. LLEUFER THOMA.S.

Thb encouragement of *' secondary" education by the
establishment of grammar-schools has always been
regarded as one of the first-fruits of tlie Reformation in
England. Vaguely and almost supers titiously, it is
believed that before the Reformation all learning was
at a low ebb; that the training of the young was utterly
neglected, except in some few cases where piivate
tutors could be employed ; and that there were
practically no public schools of the '* Grammar-school ",
or " intermediate", type in existence. With the Refor-
mation, however, all this was rapidly changed : a new-
born zeal for learning made its appearance, and grammar-
schools were established throughout the length and
breadth of the land. To Henry VIII (chiefly in the
latter years of his reign), to Elizabeth, and above all to
Edward VI, is ascribed the credit of this enlightened
reform. Such is the popular view of the history of the
period : pleasing as it is to our Protestant vanity, it
has all the elements of probability. Recently it has,
however, been challenged in a manner that demands
a reconsideration of the historical evidence as to the
beginning of our educational system. In his English
Schools at the Reformation, 1546-8 (published in 1896),
Mr. Arthur F. Leach, F.S.A., a former Fellow of All
Souls' College, Oxford, has advanced the somewhat
bold proposition that "Grammar schools, instead of
being comparatively modern, post-Reformation inven-
tions, are among our most ancient institutions, some

VOL. XXX. X

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292 THE PK^-RKFORMATION GRAMMAR SCHOOL

of them far older than the Lord Mayor of London, or
the House of Commons."

His view is that the legislation of Henry VIII and
Edward VI, directed as it primarily was against
ecclesiastical foundations, had the effect of abolishing
or of seriously crippling a large number of grammar-
schools which were then deemed to have some taint of
ecclesiasticism about them. Commissions were issued
under the Chantries Acts, 37 Henry VIII, c. 4, and
1 Edward VI, c. 14, with instructions to inquire and
report as to **all Colleges, Free Chapels and Chantries",
which by the latter Act were vested in the Crown as
from Easter 1548. The reports of these Commissioners,
in so far as they have been preserved, show that close
upon two hundred grammar-schools existed in England
before the reign of Edward VI ; but as many of the
returns have undoubtedly been lost, Mr. Leach thinks
that ** three hundred is a moderate estimate of th.e
number in the year 1535, when the floods of the great
revolution called the Reformation were let loose". As
to the character of these schools, we shall let the author
speak for himself: —

"The Grammar Scliools which existed were not mere monkish
Schools, or Choristers' Schools, or Elementary Schools. Many
of them were the same Schools which now live and thrive. All
were Schools oF exactly the same type, and performing precisely
the same sort of functions, as the Public Schools and Grammar
Schools of to-day. There were indeed also Choristers' Schools
and Elementary Schools. There were scholarships at Schools,
and exhibitions theuce to the Universities, and the whole
paraphernalia of secondary education. Nor was secondary
education — not that the wretched, ambiguous term was then
used — then understood in any different sense to that in which
it was understood up to fifty years ago. It was conducted on
the same lines, and in the main by instruments of the same
kind, if not identically the same, as those in use till the present
generation.** (P. 6.)

In the Appendix to Mr. Leach's book, the oflBcial
returns of the Chantry Commissioners are printed in
full. The only Welsh schools which are reported upon

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OF MONTGOMEKY. 293

are those of Montgomery, Llandaff, St. David's and
Brecon. As to the dates of these institutions, the
college at Brecon is stated to have been established by
charter from Henry VIII only in 1540; but we also
know — a fact which is not stated by Mr. Leach, though
it strongly supports his theory — that in this case
Henry VIII did little more than transfer to Brecon
and reorganise there the collegiate church which had
been established by Bishop Beck at Abergwili in 1283.
St. Mary's College, in St. David's, was founded by
Adam Hotton, a native of Pembrokeshire, who occu-
pied the See of St. David's from 1361 to 1389, though
there were probably schools in connection with all the
cathedral churches "from the beginning of the Churches
themselves, long before the Norman Conquest". The
school at Llandaff mentioned in these returns appears
to have been independent of the Cathedral — there was
probably a Cathedral school as well. It had been
founded by one David Mathewe, who left "certain
lands and tenements to the intent to have a priest to
celebrate mass in the. church there for ever and he to
teach twenty children". This school was too obviously
ecclesiastical to be continued, and w^e therefore hear no
more of it.

The only school from North Wales reported upon is
that of Montgomery; and as the official return with
reference to it has many points of interest, we take the
liberty of reproducing it from Mr. Leach's book, as an
appendix to this note. There are a few observations
to be made first, however. The names of the Com-
missioners for North Wales are not given, as are those
for South Wales, and for most of the English counties.
This omission suggests that there were other schools in
the North Wales district, the reports on which have
been lost, for in other districts the names of the Com-
missioners uniformly appear above the first report of
the whole series included within their district.^

^ Note A, infra,

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294 THK PRJE-REFORMATlON GRAMMAR SCHOOL

The school at Montgomery appears to have been
connected with and supported by the Guild of Our
Lady. It was customary with most guilds to main-
tain ** one or more priests or chaplains to say grace,
and to pray for the souls of its members", but, in
addition to this, such priest very often kept a school
also, either of his own free will or at the direction
of the guild. But the schoolmaster at Montgomery
was not necessarily a priest, for the practice was stated
to have been "to hire one priest or learned man to
keep a free school in the said town". " Free", in this
case, doubtless carries its obvious meaning of an
exemption from the payment of any fees for tuition,
though some have attempted to give it another inter-
pretation in similar contexts. But it is not quite so
easy to say whether this exemption was enjoyed by the
children of the community at large, or only by those
of members of the guild under whose patronage tlu
school was carried on.

What is most interesting about this return is the
evidence which it supplies as to the nature of the
education provided in this particular school of Mont-
gomery ; and, indirectly, of the general standard of
learning in the grammar-schools of that period. What
had been done in Montgomery during the thirty years
preceding the inquiry in 1548 was " to hire a priest or
other learned man to keep a free school" ; but in at
least one respect the school had recently fallen below
the normal standard of efficiency, for *' Sir William
likes, being chiefly hired for that purpose, taught but
young beginners only to write and sing, and to read so
far as the accidence rules, and no grammar, since
Michaelmas". The school was therefore a grammar-
school, intended not simply for ** young beginners", but
chiefly, we may infer, for pupils in a more advanced
stage, and these were to be taught Latin grammar.
Moreover, it was on these lines that the scnool had
been conducted until " Sir William likes" began to
neglect his duties, by omitting the teaching of Latin

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OP MONTGOMERY. 295

grammar since the preceding Michael mas, and apparently
by lowering the standard in other respects also.

Instruction in music formed part of the curriculum of
most schools at this time, and the teaching was by no
means confined to singing only : often ** teaching to
play on the organs" is included among the duties of
one of the masters in these reports. Such was the
case, for instance, at Bosbury, in Herefordshire, where
the Grammar-school is now an elementary school. The
mention of the stipend of the " Orgayn player" in the
Montgomery Report suggests that when the school
there was at its most efficient point the pupils had
been instructed in organ-playing as well as in singing.
" It is remarkable, by the way", says Mr. Leach, " that
even then two of the Song School masters in London
whose names are mentioned are Welshmen. Was
Wales even then a nation of songsters ?" (p*. 96).

In spite of the delinquency of the schoolmaster, the
school at Montgomery was not abolished — like that of
LlandaflF — and a warrant for its continuance was issued.
Apircis of this warrant is added to the annexed report.
The subsequent history of the school I leave to local
historians. In the Report of T. J. Hogg, on the
Municipal Corporation of Montgomery (published in
1838), reference is made to a " Free school, free to all
the inhabitants of the borough"; and further particulars
may piobably be gleaned from the Report of Lord
Brougham's Commission on the Charities of the Borough.
Whether the continuity of this institution from ** Sir
William likes s" time can be established, I do not know.

Reverting to the question of Prae-Reformation
schools, I have two more points to touch upon.

First, the returns of the Chantry Commissioners, for
at least two of the border counties of England, appear
to have been much better preserved than those relating
to Wales ; and as most of the schools within these two
counties were fairly accessible from the eastern parts of
Wales, they probably exercised considerable influence
on Welsh education. Returns are printed in Mr.

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296 THE PRiE-REFORMATION GRAMMAK SCHOOL

Leach's book relating to as many as seven schools
(mostly Grammar-schools) in Shropshire, and more than
twice that number in Herefordshire. The Shropshire
list includes schools at Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Wel-
lington, Bridgnorth, Madeley, Newport and Ludlow.
Some evidence as to the number of Welsh-speaking
inhabitants then resident in Shrewsbury is supplied by
an entry in the report on ** The CoUedge or Parysh
Church of Saynt Chade" to this eflfect : '' A reward to a
Welshe prest at lent tyme, 65. 8rf."

Secondly, we know of at least two Welsh grammar-
schools which were in existence before this inquiry, but
are not mentioned in the extant returns. One is that
of Abergavenny, founded in 1543 by Henry VIII
himself, who appropriated to its maintenance certain
tithes which, previous to the Dissolution, had belonged
to the priory of Abergavenny and the monastery of
Usk ; the other is the grammar-school of Carmarthen.
The foundation of the latter is generally attributed to
Queen Elizabeth, whence it is generally called " Queen
Eh'zabeth's School", but there was an older foundation,
which is mentioned by Dineley in the Beaufort Progress
(ed. 1888, p. 238), written in 1684. After referring to
the situation of the "ffree schoole belonging to the
Town, built of white hard stone", he adds, ** the flFounder
whereof was David ap Owen sometime Bipp' of S.
Asaph'V of whom he proceeds to give some biographical
details. Now David ap Owen occupied the see of St.
Asaph between 1503 and 1512, the latter year being
the date of his death, so this foundation must have
belonged to the early years of the sixteenth century, if
not to the later portion of the preceding century.

This act of liberality seems to suggest that David
ap Owen was probably a native of Carmarthenshire, or
had some other close connection with the district.
This connection I have not yet been able to discover.
His arms are said to be the same as those of the
Vaughans of Llwydiarth, a fact which, according to the

1 Note B.

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OP MONTGOMERY. 297

Ven. Archdeacon Thomas,^ "confirms the bishops
descent from the stock of Llwydiarth, as described by
Gwilym Egwad in his Awdli Ddafydd ap Owain Ahad
Ystrad Marchell, as * Brigog o'rCelynin', i.e., branching
from Celynin" {Mont Coll.j xii, 32). On the other
hand, the fact that a Carmarthenshire poet should sing
the praises of the abbot seems to me to support the
view that David ap Owen must have been a Car-
marthenshire man. Can anyone help me to retain him
for my own county of Carmarthen ?

Mention should also be made of a third institution
of a quasi-educational character in South Wales, namely,
the Collegiate Church, founded in 1287 by Bishop Beck
at Llanddewi-Brefi, in North Cardiganshire.

As a last word, I must apologise for devoting so much
space to topics other than the Grammar-school of
Montgomery, which I took as my subject at the start.

NORTH WALES. CERTIFICATE 110

(Kdward VI).

13. Montgomery,

The Fraterny te or late Service of our lady in the said Towne.

Rentes of landes and Tenements, 265. 9rf.

And vpon the increase and yerelye profyttes of a Stock of
Cattell preysed to be solde at £380 15.v. 4d, £40 . £41 65. 2il

Entre this in the warrant of contynewance,

Mathew David, Clerc, verie aged and impotent, Stypendary
prest by the brotherheade scale, £8.

Allmvehym the yerelie Somrne of £,6,

William likes, Clerc, Stipendary prest £8.

Pencion, £4.

Sir hugh woodes, another stipendarye, lOGs. Sd.

Pencion, £4.

Rychard Smythe, Orgayn player, 100s.

Pencion, 665. 8^.

1 See Arch. Camb. for April 1898, p. 198.

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298 THE PR^-REFORMATION GRAMMAR SCHOOL

John Elkes, keper of the quyre, being a poor man £4 O4. SeL

AII0W6 hym 4O5. yerdie.

John Bocher and Mathew ap Richard^ querysters, eyther of
them, 135. 4rf. . . , . 26«. 8d,

William ap John, holy water bearer, 6s.

It appearyth by the depositions of the Proctors, wardens
and presenters ther, that those same dyd fynde and hie re
one prest or lerned man continually, by the space of 30 yeres
by past, to keape a free schole in the said Towne, albeit that
Sir William likes, above named, beyng cheyfelye hyred for
that purpose, taught but yonge begynnefrs onelye to write
and syng and to reade soo farre as the accidens Rules, and noo
Grammer, sythens the feast of Sainte Michell the archangel!
last past.

Memorandum : that albeyt by the good husbandry. Industry,
and ouersight of the late Incumbentes, and of the Wardens and
kepers of the said flocke and Cattell, ther accryeved commonly
of those same, being kept onely vpon the Commons, wastes, and
Montaines without any charge for ther pasture, suche yerely
proBttes and encrease by the space of certeyne yeres expyred
as above, yet the same gayne and profittes (many wayes
oncertayne hertofore) cannot for many consyderacions so con-
tinue nowe a certayne yerely Revenue vnto the King[es]
Maiestie, whiche is to be consydered in the assignement of
recompences vnto the above named Incumbentes, etcetera.
Forasmoche as by the said vncertentie the clere revenue and
yerelie gain« of the said Cattell is not like to contynue above
the somme of £16 10«., which is the even rate of oon yere's
value redu[ced] vpon the proporcion of the price of these same
as ab[ove].

^ North Wales. Schools Continuance Warrant, 17.

Forasmoche as it appearith [&c.] that John Elkes, keper of the
Quyre in the Churche of Mongomery [&c.] beyng a very poors
man, had yerelie for his lyvyng out of the Revenues of the soide
late Fraternytie of our lady in Mongomery £4 id. We therefore
[&c.] have assigned [&c.] that the said John Elkes shall haue
yerelie 40s. in recompence of the said £4 8s. which he had
yerelie out of the same late Fraternitie.

[Copied from English Schools at the Reformation, 1546-8, by
Arthur F. Leach, 1896, pp. 311-3].

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OP MONTGOMERY- 299

NOTES.

Note A. p. 293. Among the Pre-Beformation Schools in North
Wales, existent but not included in the Commissioners* Report, must
be included one at St. Asaph. In MS. Book E in the Bishop's
library is a memorandum entitled "De Schola Libera Asaphensi,
28 Mail 1548 a* 2** Edw. VT. A Copy of an Exemplification of a
Chapter Act made 28 Maij 1548 a** 2** Edw. VI concerning settlement
of a Free School at Denbigh, wh was ordered to be settled at
St Asaph, Kgs. Cmn." In this it was recited that the Visitors of
Edward VI recommended the school to be continued at St. Asaph,
Somerset and the Council had consented to Denbigh as more con-
venient, and the members of the Cathedral Chapter agree to tax
themselves for its support at so much each, *^ annuatim solveud''. It
may be noted that Bishop Parfew (or Wharton) was very anxious to
have the Cathedral transferred to Wrexham or Denbigh. Bishop
Gold well in 1556 assigned to it certain fines, and Bishop William
Hughes in 1597 bequeathed to it the reversion of his property in
Rhyd, Llewerllyd, Disserth and Trecastle, in case his daughter Anne,
the wife of Mr. Thomas Mostyn, of Rhyd, should die without issue.
She, however, had children, and the bequest lapsed. The school may
be said to be represented by the present Grammar School.

Note B. — The founder of Carmarthen School. The statement of
Dineley in the Beaufort Progre^^ quoted by Mr. Thomas, that " the
ffounder was David ap Owen sometime Bipp' of S. Assaph . . . who
was first Abbot of Strat Marchell and after that of Conwey (a very
bouutifull and liberall man) and was consecrated in the year of our
Salvation 1503 in ye 19 year of the reigu of Hen. VII and died in the
beginning of February 1512", though very explicit, may nevertheless
be an error for a later Bishop of St. Asaph, Richard Davies, who
became Bishop of St. David's in 1561. David ap Owen can only be
claimed as a Carmarthenshire man, in a remote degree, as a late
descendant from Celynin ; the pedigree and the arms conuect him
with Llwydiarth, in Montgomeryshire. Nor does it affect the case
that an ** Ode" in his honour was written by Gwilym Egwad, a
Carmarthenshire bard. Other Odes in his praise were composed by
GutoV Glyn, fl. 1430-1460, a native of Llangollen, and domestic bard
to the Abbot of Glyn Egwestl (Valle Crucis).^ On the other hand,

1 In Llyfr SUin he is described as "Dafydd (Esgob) ap Owen ap
Deio ap Llew ap Eiuion ap Kelynin".

* Lewis's Topographical Dictionari/ says it was founded by another
Bishop Owen, viz., Morgan Owen, D.D., who was promoted to the
See of Llandaff in 1639. This is however, a mistake, for Oweu was
himself educated at the school, and added to its endowment by
bequeathing it £20 per annum out of the tithes of St. Ishmuel.

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300 PK^-KEFOKMATION GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

the notice of Bishop Davies in the Dictionary of Nationnl Biography
states that Carmarthen Grammar School was founded in 1576 ** by
the efiforts of (bishop) Davies and Essex (Walter Devereux, Earl of),
who with some of the townsfolk petitioned the Queen with this object";
and again in mentioning that the Welsh New Testament was " printed
at the costs of Humphrey Toye, a Welshman from Carmarthen", it is
added, " whose family was subsequently associated with the bishop in
founding the Grammar School in that town".^

D. R. T.

1 ci T. F. T." (Professor T. F. Tout).

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301

STRATA MARCELLA AND THE MONKS'
FIELDS.

The " Monks' Fields", Upper and Lower, are two hill-
farms situated in two dingles on the southern slope of
the Long Mountain, in the ecclesiastical district of
Trelystan and the civil parish of Worthen, where it
adjoins that of Alberbury. The land attached to them
occupies, roughly speaking, a triangle, two sides of
which are formed by the streamlets that run down the
respective dingles, and the third side by the ancient
ridgeway that traverses the mountain from Forden
towards Shrewsbury. The name, of course, proclaims
its monastic associations, but I am not aware that the
actual ownership has ever been identified. This point,
however, I believe I am now able to settle by the aid
of a Deed of Exchange which Col. Howard, of Wigfair,
near St Asaph, has kindly submitted to me, with
some hundreds of others, from among his muniments.
A comparison of this Deed with some notices byEyton,
in his marvellous storehouse of Shropshire antiquities,
leaves no doubt as to the substantial identity of the
land, although the local names mentioned in the Deed
itself have been lost. Eyton writes (vol. vi, 255) :
" I have spoken of Robert htz Madoc as having been
enfeoffed early in the 13th century in half Picklescott,^
his Feoffors being the co-parceners of Smethcott.
Robert fitz Madoc granted this moiety of Picklescott
to the * White Monks of Pole', meaning the Cistercian
Convent of Ystrat Marchel. . . The second Richard

^ Picklescote is a member of Smethcott parish, and lies about
nine miles south-west of Shrewsbury in the direotion of Church
Stretton.

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302 STRATA MARCELLA AND THE MONKS' FIELDS.

de Linley, with his daughter Alice, quit-claimed * to
God and St. Mary and to all the Saints, and to the
Abbot and Monks of Pole all their right in that part
of the whole vill of Pickelescote, which Robert Madoc
had given, and which was of the fee of Alice's
ancestors'.

** The Abbot and Convent of Strattmarkel gave this
land to Thomas Corbet of Caus, in exchange for certain
land in the Haye of Thomas Corbet above Cans. (This
is the exchange recorded in the Deed.) Thomas Corbet,
in turn, styling himself son of Robert Corbet, gave all
his land of Pykelescot above mentioned to the Abbot
and Convent of Haghmon, in exchange for land at
Eddestan, belonging to Haghmon Abbey". A.D. 1227-
1235. The date of the *^ Strattmarkel" exchange was
1229 (13 Hen. III).

Thomas Corbett describes the land as a portion of
his " Forest above Caus" (partem Haye mee desuper
Cauhos), and within a mile of its eastern boundary we
have three names that still hand down a portion of its
extent— '* Forest", ** Forest of Hayes", and ''Hay-
wood". The delimitation commences ** a fossato de
Elesburines", i.e., from the earthwork of Elesburines ;
this name is not now known, but it probably applied to
the mound (or burh) marked in the Ordnance Map
as the ** Knaps" (nes). Descending thence along the
stream by Lower ** Monks' Fields" to the head of
** Kaldebroc" (where the brook from the " Welsh Harp"
that flows down by the Upper Monks' Fields joins
it), and continues about an equal distance, ** equaliter
descendente", down the dingle to the influx of another
stream that flows from the spring of ** Meoleswalle",
near a place called *' Penteladeron" (the Robbers'
Hollow). Then turn up along that stream to the
" spring" of Meoleswall, a name that seems to survive
in part in the name of " Walton". Thence proceed to
the ancient Track or Ridgeway to the starting-point.
The tract of land thus enclosed would correspond with
the township of Rhosgoch, which lies in the Shrop-

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STRATA MARCELLA AND THE MONKS* FIELDS. 303

shire parish of Worthen, but in the county of Mont-
gomery. Indeed, if the order of the names were
reversed, the description would apply equally well; and
in that case, instead of the small mound of the Knaps,
we should have the extensive entrenchment of Caer
Digoll (the Beacon Ring), representing the *'fossatum
de Ellesburines".

The lonely mountain trackway, the secluded dingles,
and the ominous name of the " Robbers' Hollow", have
a special significance in connection with the civilising
influence of an Abbey Grange, and I think we need
have no hesitation in thus identifying the lands given
in exchange to the Monks of Strata Marcella in 1229.
Twenty-six years later, in 1255, the Hundred Roll
(ii, 66, 67) records that *Hhe Abbot of Pole (i.e.,
Ystrad Marchell) held half a virgate of land in Willa-
veston, of the fee of Cau^". A portion of " Lower
Monks Fields" still pays tithes to Alberbury, of which
Willaveston, or Wollaston, was a member. And, to
make the matter still more certain, we will quote from
the first Grant, 37, Hen. VIII, of lands of Strata
Marcella to Sir Arthur Darcy.

** Ac eciam oni'es illas parcellas t'le nostras jacen' *t existen
infra parochiam de Worthy m in d'co com n'ro Montgom'ye
modo vel nnp' in tenura dimissione sive occupac'oe Reginald]
ap William *t d*co nup Monast'io de Stratam'cella dudum
p'tinen* sive spectan ac parcella posseasionii revencionii sen
p'ficuor inde dudum existen/' — Mont, Coll, (1873), vi. 36'j.

(And also all those parcels of our land within the parish of
Worthen in our said County of Montgomery, now or lately in
the lease or occupation of Reginald ap William, which lately
belonged to said late Monastery of Strata Marcella.)

This " Reginald ap William" was otherwise called
Reginald Williams, ai)d served as High SheriflF of
Montgomeryshire in 1546. His residence was * Plas y
Court in Wollaston ; and to make assurance still more
sure, the Deed of Exchange is endorsed in a 16th-
century hand, " Notatur in libro 28. A Dede of the
grownd yn Reynold ap Wyll'm hands". n R T

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304 STRATA MARCELLA AND TH£ MONKS' FIELDS.

THE DEED OP EXCHANGE.

Sciant oinnes tam presentes quatn futuri Quod ego Thomas
Corbet fill us Robert! Corbet dedi et concessi et hac presenti
carta mea confirmavi Deo et ecclesie beate Marie de Strat-
marchell et nionachis ibidem Deo imperpetuum servientibus
pro salute anime raee et antecessoruui meorum ac successorum
raeorum et pro tota parte sua de Pikelescote prout melius et
pleuius continetur in cartis quas habent de Roberto filio Madoc
et de heredibus suis et pro duabus carucatis bourn et quattuor
vaccis et pro blado illius anni quod ibidem habebaut quandam
partem Haye mee desuper Cauhos in escambiam que continetur
infra di visas subnotatas. Scilicet a fossato de EUesburines
equaliter descendente usque ad caput de Kaldebroc et per
Kaldebroc descendentetn inferius usque ad rivulum, qui
descendit a superiori fonte, que vocatur Meoleswalle, qui
propinque est loco qui vocatur Peateladeron et sic per
rivulum ilium ascendentera usque ad ortum ejusdem fontis de
Mealeswall et sic per viam que est desuper fontem eundera
prout eadem via ducit usque ad praenominatum fossatum de
Elesburines, habendum et tenendum de me et heredibus meis
sibi et successoribus suis imperpetuum libero et quiete bene et
in pace et honorifice et integre et sine aliqua reclaraatione vel
contradictione aut exactione aut seculari consuetudine vel
demanda, in perpetuam possessionem et elemosinam tam pro
me quam pro heredibus meis. Liceat etiam eidem monachis
et eorum successoribus predictam terram cum omnibus que in
ea continentur tam subtus terram quam supra Dare vendere
vel assignare vel alienare et quicquid voluerint facere de ea
sicut de sua propria absque omni impedimento mei vel meorum
Et habeant liberum ingressum et egressum eundi et redeundi
ad predictam terram et ad aquas eidem terre propinquas cum
necesse fuerint sibi et animalibus suis extra preuotatas divisas.
Liceat quoque eisdem prenominatam terram circumclaudere.
Et ego Thomas Corbet nee aliquis meorum nullam molestiara
vel vexationem inferemus predictis monachis vel animalibus
suis vel custodibus animalium propter evasiones aliquas
animalium suorum cum de pastura sua exigente et courgente
calore vel aliquo casu custodibus invitis evaserint Ego vero
Thomas Corbet et heredes mei dictam terram infra divisas
prenominatas cum omnibus libertatibus et concessionibus
prenotatis eisdem monachis et eorum successoribus Contra
omnes homines warantizabimus et eandem de forinsecis
serviciis et omnibus aliis acquietabimus. Ut igitur haec mea

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STRATA MARCELLA AND THE MONKs' FIELDS. 305

donacio atqae concessio facta anno gratie millesimo dacente-
simo vicesimo nono scilicet anno regni regis Henrici filii regis
lohannis tertiodecimo rata sit imperpetuura earn tarn sigilli
mei impressione quarn bonorura viroruin atestatione munivi et
corroboravi His testibus David can to re, Kadugano subpriore,
inonachis et presbiteris ejusdem domus de Rtradmarchell,
Delieweint converso. Domino Ricardo Corbet, Rogero de
Eston, Adam de Arundel, Thoraa Hager, .Gerino Burnel,
Ricardo de Hauewode, Rogero de Hageston^ Ricardo item
clerico, et aliis.

Transiation.^

Let all men know, both those now living and those who
shall come after, that I Thomas Corbet son of Robert Corbet
have given and granted and by this my present document
have conBrmed to God and the Church of the Blessed Mary of
Stratmarchell and to the monks who serve the Lord there
for ever for the safety of my soul and of my ancestors and
successors and for all that portion of Pikelescote that belongs
to them as is better and more fully contained in the docu-
ments which they have of Robert the son of Madoc and his
heirs, and for two teams of oxen and four cows, and- for the
corn of that year which they had there, a certain part of my
Haye above Cauhos in exchange, which is contained within
the nndermentioned boundaries that is to say from the ditch
of Ellesburines going down evenly as far as the head of
Kaldebroc and descending through Kaldebroc lower down as
far as the stream which comes down from the higher spring
which is called Meoleswall which is near to the place which
is called Penteladeron and so going up by that stream as far
as the source of the same spring of Mealeswall and so by the
road which is above the same spring as the road leads as far as
the aforementioned ditch of Ellesburines, to have and to hold
from me and my heirs for themselves and their successors
freely and undisturbedly, well and in peace, honourably and
uprightly, and without any gainsaying or contradiction or
claim for payment or secular custom or demand, for a per-
petual possession and gift both on my part and on the part of
my heirs. Be it lawful also for the same monks and their
successors to give sell or assign or to part with the aforesaid

^ By the Rev. F. Vernon, Vicar of Shawbury, for Sir Walter O.
Corbet of Acton Reynold, to whom Col. Howard had submitted it.

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306 STRATA MARCBLLA AND THE MON KS* FIELDS.

ground with everything therein contained as well beneath the
ground as above it and to do whatever they wish concerning
it as their own proper possession without any hindrance from
me and mine. Let them also have free ingress and egress of
going and returning to the aforesaid land and to waters near
the same land when it shall be necessary for themselves and
their cattle beyond the aforenamed boundaries. Be it allowed
them also to enclose the aforenamed land. Nor will I or any
of mine offer any trouble or annoyance to the aforesaid monks
or their cattle or their keepers of the cattle when either from
the heat driving and urging them from their pasture or from
any cause they may stray against the wishes of their keepers.
Moreover I Thomas Corbet and my successors will hold the
said land within the aforenamed boundaries with all the afore-
named liberties and concessions secure to the same monks and
their successors against all men and will discharge the same
land from foreign service and all others. In order therefore
that this my gift and concession, made in the year of grace
one thousand twelve hundred and twenty nine, that is to say
in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Henry the son of
King John, may be ratified for ever, I have secured and con-
firmed it as well by the impression of my seal as by the
attestation of worthy men, the following being witnesses,
David the precentor, Kadugau the subprior, monks and
priests of the same house of Stradraarchell, Deheweint a
lay brother, Sir Bichard Corbet, Eoger de Eston, Adam de
Arundel, Thomas Hager, Gerinus Burnel, Bichard de Hane-
wode, Boger de Hageston, and also Bichard the clerk and
others.

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^nksLlC LIBRARY)

ASTOB.LtMOXANO
TI LPgW FOUN0»TION«.

MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-LORE.
: Bt the Rbv.,ELIAS OWEN, F.S.A.

»/

Holy wells in the parish of Llanfihangel Ynghwnfa,
Montgomeryshire.

This mountainous parish is situated about six miles
west of Llanfyllin, and on account of its exposed posi-
tion it is usually called Llanfihangel y gwynt ; Gwynt
being the Welsh for wind. This is an appropriate
name, as the church is fully exposed to all the winds
of heaven, being perched on the hill-top, and it is seen
for some distance as it is approached from Llanfyllin.

There are in this parish three wells, which formerly
weire in much repute in and about the neighbourhood ;
but at present, without exception, they are one and
all uncared for and utterly neglected. Their site, even,
will be lost or questioned, in a few years.

On the 30th of August, 1895, 1 visited my old friend
the rector, the Rev. Edward Evans, who took his degree
at Oxford in 1836, so that he has seen a good many
years in the present century, and that, too, at a period
of considerable change in the manners and customs of
the people of Wales. Mr. Evans was appointed to his
present living in 1860. During this period, many an
aged person whose mind was filled with the super-
stitions of byegone days has left the scene of his
labours, but I am glad to say that the rector has
become the repository of their fancies, and from him I
learnt much that I shall now record.

The day that I visited the hospitable rectory was
showery, but Mr. Evans kindly lent me his horse, or
rather one of them, and accompanied by his son, Mr.
John Pugh Evans, we rode off to Ffynnon Arthur, The

VOL. XXX. Y

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308 MONTGOMERYSHIRE POLK-LORh:.

day, notwithstanding the occasional showers, was simply
delightful, for the sky cleared up and the sun shone
gloriously for a part of the day. There was one advan-
tage in rambling about on such a day, for the farmers
were not over busy, as the weather interfered somewhat
with the harvest. They could, consequently, afford to
stop and chat with us as we made our way towards the
well. It WHS about two miles from the rectory. The
scenery was charming : the red berries of the mountain
ash glittered on the trees famous for queer beliefs, and
the yellow blossoms of the gorse added to the beauty
of the country, and the fields dotted with cattle and
sheep bespoke cultivation and careful farming.

I will now describe the well. We had a little trouble
to identify the spot, though we had consulted the parish
map, but with the assistance of several obliging and
intelligent farmers at last we reached the spot

Ffynnon Arthur {Arthur's WeU).

Whether the Arthur was that somewhat mythical
being whose fame is great amongst Celtic people, or
some other less romantic person, I know not.

The well, or rather its site, is in the township of
Flynnon Arthur, and in a field called on the parish
map Gae Dwr, belonging to Cefn Llwyni Farm.

All that is seen of the well at present is a depression
covered with rank grass. It stands about 50 yards
from the gate that leads into the above-mentioned
field, from a road that skirts the west side.

Whilst Mr. Evans and I were engaged in inspecting
the remains, we were joined by Mr. Edward Lodwick
and his brother, tenants with their mother of the farm,
Cefn Llwyni ; and from them and Mrs. Lodwick, their
mother, we obtained all the information of a local kind
of this once celebrated medicinal well. We were told
it was famous for curing bruises. Mr. Lodwick informed
me that years ago his brother, who by-and-bye joined
us, met with a mishap whilst playing football ; that his
leg was so much hurt, that the flesh wasted away, until

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MONTaOMERYSHIRB POLK-LORB. 309

it was merely skin and bone. He continued in this
condition for two or three years, then, as a last resource,
he commenced bathing daily in Ffynnon Arthur, and
the result was a perfect cure. 1 saw the man, now
middle aged; he was as straight as an arrow, and
appeared as strong and healthy as any mountaineer.
He firmly believed in the efficacy of the water, and
told us all about his wonderful cure.

It was strange, having heard of the virtue of the
water, that he was so long before trying its reputed
merits ; but it had already waned in reputation, and
it was considered superstitious to frequent it for
health's sake.

Mrs. Lodwick said that, about fifty years ago or more,
numbers of people from all the country round for miles
about, and even from more distant places, frequented
the well for rheumatism and sprains, and that they
were all cured.

There w^ then a little house near the well for the
use of the bathers, traces of which still exist, and this
building stood close to the hedge, not far from the
gate that leads to the field.

Patients offered to the well money, and it is believed
that the coins are there to this day. It was not right
to remove the pence seen, or even any other more
valuable coin from the well, for the disease, it was
believed, would thus be transferred from the patient
to the sacrilegious person.

A few years ago the well was filled in, because it was
dangerous to cattle grazing in the field, a valuable cow
having lost her life in it. Mr. Lodwick said that it was
four yards deep in the centre.

The well was about 12 ft. square, and originally it
was surrounded by a stone wall, and there were steps
leading into it. I could not ascertain the exact number.
The spring was in the centre, and sprang up straight, and
in summer and winter it was active. It was never dry
or frozen over. In the hottest weather it was so cold,
that Mrs. Lodwick often laments its destruction when

Y 2

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310 MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-LORE.

she fails to make her butter. SKe told me that formerly
she was in the habit of taking the whole churning down
to the well, when it became hard at once, though at
was like oil when she first took it to the water. She
greatly lamented that her sons had found it necessary
to drain the water away. The spring was so strong,
that it was found necessary to use a 6 in. pipe when
removing it. The water is conveyed into a brook a
distance off.

Ffynnon Fach {Little Well).

This spring stands on the side of the road that leads
to the village of Llanfihangel, close to the rectory
grounds, just before the commencement of the steep
incline from the Llanfyllin road.

This well was noted for curing eye diseases, and
once it was much frequented by persons with weak
eyes. They washed their eyes daily in its waters,
always with happy results. At present it is merely
a hole, which no one would notice as they walked
upwards towards the village ; but, possibly, it retains
its medicinal qualities. There are many eye wells in
Wales.

There is a curious tradition in connection with this
well, which is, that if the water of the well i« swallowed,
it immediately kills the person who is so profane as to
desecrate the holy waters. And T was told that once,
formerly, a presumptuous fellow did so, heedless of
warnings, and he fell down dead there and then. He
was not buried in consecrated ground, but a hole was
dug for his body on the roadside close by the well, and
into this hole his body was cast. The ridge was pointed
out to me; but at another visit I was informed that the
mound had been removed, and no bones had been dis-
covered. This was not wonderful, as what took place
had occurred years ago.

There is a like tradition connected with a well in
Carnarvonshire. j

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MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-LORE. 311

St. Michael's Well {Penissa'r Llan Wdl).

This well is situated in a Ffmdd about 150 yards on
the S.E. side of the churchyard. Formerly there was
a pathway from the church to the well. The wicket
leading to it from the churchyard was taken down, and
the space it occupied built up. The pathway is still to
be seen, but it is unused. The farmers wife who
occupies the farm close to the churchyard, said that
formerly the water used at baptisms was always pro-
cured from this well, and that the water was holy
consecrated water. I saw the farmer, who mistook
me for a church dignitary, and asked how it was
that the church authorities neglected repairing the
well, as it was church property and consecrated ;
that the cattle refused t,o drink the waters, preferring
the water from a neighbouring tank which was not
holy water. What the farmer said about his animals
refusing to drink the water was curious and, if true,
strange.

This farmer also said that the well could be easily
repaired, and done up, as it formerly was, with a stone
wall around it.

A Barking Frog.

Since the beginning of May a strange visitor has
been disturbing the good and bad people of Llany-
blodwel, and I think the event worthy of a few
remarks. People wish to know what it is and whence
it came.

Before, however, mentioning the animal, I should say
that in years gone by, the Tanat river made a sweep
towards the church, but a few hundred years ago it had
diverted its course and its former bed is called the
Old river, which is not entirely dry.

The strange visitor took up his abode in the Old
river; and nightly, after about seven o clock, or just at
the beginning of dusk, it commenced uttering its dismal
notes, which resembled the noise of a corncrake, but
the notes were deeper. It was not seen until the

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312 M0NTCK)MERY8HIRE FOLK-LORE.

beginning of June, when I was fortunate enough to see
its head erect and out of the water. I was close by it.
The head was small, and it was almost incredible that
so small an animal could emit so big a sound. It was
heard a quarter of a mile from the place. Hundreds
of people congregated to hear it.

On June 8th a letter appeared, written by me to the
Oswestry Advertiser , calling the attention of naturalists
to this peculiar animal ; but on Monday, or Tuesday
morning, rather, June 7th, some wanton persons placed
dynamite in the river, and an explosion took place,
which shook every cottage about the place, and killed
the poor animal, and since then no noise has been heard
in the river.

Superstitions about it.

The uncanny noise was thought to be made by an
evil spirit that had escaped from a bottle in which it
had been confined for its evil doings when in the flesh,
and I was seriously asked whether I had seen the bottle.

Others said that the noise foretold a great dearth,
that it prophesied that wheat would be so many shillings
a strike, as the animal boomed.

Another person called it a demon of the marsh.
Whatever the poor thing was, it has met with a tragic
death. It is not at all unlikely that many people are
glad that the uncanny noise has been stopped, and
that they should no longer be disturbed by its curious
sounds.

I may add that the noise continued through the
night, and left off* at break of day. It certainly was
not a bird that made the noise, as some supposed. A
correspondent thought it might be the bittern, called
in Welsh Aderyn y Bwn. But often on the hills of
Denbighshire have I heard this birds low mournful
notes, and I can affirm that the plaintive sound of the
habitant of the river was very unlike that bird's notes.
Although I cannot say what the animal was, I believe
it was a species of frog* .

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313 PUBLIC Li: ?,.:.;/

AfiTOR, LENOX ANO
TILOEN FOUNDA7iJN8.

THE PASSES OF CWM BYCHAN AND
DBWS ARDUDWY.

*' A Bard of Powysland'* has kindly placed at our
service this record of an excursion made from Llwyn-
gwril, in the summer of 1885, to these wild and
romantic Passes. If it does not claim any high poetic
merit, it will at least amuse, and, it may be, will stir
up some interest in the places he vividly describes.
We give it with pleasure a place in the Montgomery-
shire Collections. — Ed.

Where Artro rolls his sparkling streum

On Meirion's western strand,
And Tanwg's hoary shrine^ is swept

By waves of shifting sand, —
A fiery steed with bated breath

Paused in his wild career ; —
A Bard dismounted, bent t*explore

The Mountain Passes near.
Here other steeds of tamer breed

And cars of antique fashion
Await his will, and quick he mounts,

J^'ired with a sacred passion.
Away through leafy lanes and groves

And by the rippling river,
Past sunny nooks and beetling crags

And slopes of glowing heather.
On to the " Hooty Glade",^

And Cwm Mawr's fair cascade.

Thence round by lonely Bychau's Lake,
Through quivering bog and stony brake,

1 Llandanwg, the long-deserted Mother Church of Harlech, about a
mile from Pensarn Station.

2 Dol-wreiddiog.

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314 THE Passes of cwm Bychan

And 'neath the " Archer's'* fatal shaded

Where ended many a deadly raid,

Up the deep glen's side,

Where the waters glide

And rush and race

Down its rocky face

From the « Maiden's Tarn"2

Near hoary " Qwion's Cam",'^

And the " Rock of evil fame" ;*

Through copse and waste,

Where cloud- mists haste

In hurrying scuds to seek

'* Great Rhinog's"^ stormy peak,

He mounts ; on to the mountain stair.

With great steps, smooth and bare.

Where in Centuries old

Some people untold

Laid stone on stone

In order prone,

Or raised in slight degree

For footsteps firm and free ;

But who they were,

Or whence they came.

Or Briton, Cymro,

Roman, Dane,

Or native friend, or foreign foe ;

Or why this mountain Pass they chose

With labour infinite to unclose,

Whether for commerce and for gain,

Or only to join plain to plain ;

Or for the purposes of war

Of Roman^ legions from afar.

Or sea-marauders' savage raids

Through Meirion's land on Clwydia's maids,"

No man hath told : and no man knows : —

And yet, methinks, some signs disclose
A clue, though not the name, of those
Whose patient toil this roadway made
From Bychan's Cwm to Eden's glade.

1 Craig y Saeth, ** the rock of the arrow", whence enemies were
picked off with fatal aim. It commands the road.

2 Llyn y Morwynion. ^ Craig Wion.

* y Qraig Ddrwg. ^ Rhinog Vawr.

® They are sometimes called the " Roman steps".
" The legend of " Llyn y Morwynion".

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AKi> DRWS ARDUDWV. 315

For here and there, to guard the way,

Rude " Huts" * of piled stones betray

The craft of men, whose toil is told

On QwerfyFa hill, — ^ in Harlech's stony fold f

And EiO's lofty citadel ^ a work

Assigned to Erin's tribes, in talk of common folk,

Who speak of ** Gwyddel-Huts" :

For so, to them the (jrael.

From whence soe'er they hail.

Seem all as one.

Suffice it now for Bard to tell
How through the rocky mist-bound dell,
The riven rocks and mountain wall
To traveller yield but passage small,
Who, toiling on for rood on rood.
In strange and awe-inspired mood,
Now scans the scene so weird and grand.
And desolate on every hand :
Or peoples once again the Pass
With warrior heroes, — gone, alas !

Whence none return

Across the bourn

Their tale to tell.
And now at length on th'other side
The hills of Penllyn open wide,
A vision bleak
Of moor and peak,
To " Aran Benllyn's" head.
And " Mawddwy's" lofty bed ;*
Past " Rhobell " round.
And ** Dinas" crowned
With rock and mound ;
By the " Dark Hill" and the " Grey",«
And " Feidiog's" lonely way,^
To ** Great Arenig's" peak.
Where few would care to seek
In winter snows their course.

But time speeds by :
With wary tread and watchful eye,
Through quaggy moss, where pitfalls lie,
Whence spring the countless rills that 611
The streamlets rolling down the hill,

^ Cyttiau. * Llwyngwril. ^ Cyttiau y Gwyddelod.

* The Rivals in Carnarvonshire.

'^ Aran Fawddwy.

.^ Y.Dduallt and Yr^ Allt Lwyd, " Roman road to Caergai.

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316 tU£ PA6SG8 OF CWM BYCHAK

To Eden's bed, and Mawddach's Vale,
By Cymmer Abbey in the Dale —
In " Drws Ardudwy" now we stand,
A second ** Door" 'twixt sea and land,
Through which in days of old
The " Men of Harlech", brave and bold.
Marched, to drive from Meirion's fold

The fierce invading band :
A Pass, more desolate, less grand,
Than Tyddiad's steps ! ^
Here Desolation's child.
Lonely, rugged, barren, wild.
Reigns unchallenged, — save by sound
Of eagle, falcon, hawk or hound

In hungry search for prey.
Down this he sped,
Along the torrent's slippery bed,
As down th^ rocky path it led ;
Until at last, in sore distress.
The Bard he made an awful mess ! ,
The rock was wet, the wind was high.
His heels went up, he knew not why,
His body stayed behind I O my !
A sight to feel !

Near head of this unfriendly combe,
Fit emblem of Dame Nature's tomb,
Stands *' Maes y Gamedd's" hold ;
Where Jones, the Eegicide, of old
Was bom and died ; alas ! too late
T'avert the Royal Martyr's fate :
Meet ciudle this for treason's brood
And Cromwell's kith of cruel mood !
For Nature's self had laid her hand
In gloom upon this lonely strand. —
Nor yet the spell was broke — for all
Too soon *' beneath a wall
He saw some dogs hold caruival "
O'er hide of luckless sheep,
** Grunting and growling o'er carcase and limb :"
But not too busy to look at him.
With a rush and a growl
And a hideous scowl,

They bethought them now of a second feast;
But the poor bones of a wandering Priest
Were not to compare
With their feast down there :

^ Bwlch y Tyddiad, the proper name of the Cwm Bycban Pasa.

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AND DRWS ARDUDWY. 317

So they hied them away,

So did he sans delay,

Glad at heart they had other prey,

And made with him so short a stay.

To fiuish the story, it began to rain,

And whenever it stopped, it began again ;

And it poured and it blew

Till it wet him through.

In spite of coat and greas^ shoe.

In such sore plight,

Poor rain-soaked wight I

He struck across

Hill and morass

For Penybont : but alas, alas !

Two places^ own'd that luckless name.

Towards one of which a kindly dame

Directed him, and on he hied

With many a long and weary stride,

Until at length he learnt too late

It was the wrong one ! — Then to fate

Unyielding, on he went, until

On " Cefn Cymmerau's" hill

More dogs, — some men

Lit in a corner on his ken !

More kindly these, nor bark nor scowl

Sent thrill into the wanderer's soul ;

But on they sped him, till he spied

On '' NantcoPs" banks and pine-clad side

A pathway leading steep and low

To pleasant meads of " Glan Artro" ;

And there the broad highway once more

The traveller brings to Artro^s shore^. —

But hark ! from Harlech's fortress keep
A sound re-echoes, loud and deep.
And louder e*er it grows, until
It thunders round St. Mary's^ Hill, —

The train's at hand 1 The Bard jumps in,

And rolling on through thick and thin,

0*er Dyffryn*s plain

By " EnddwynV* fane

And " Dwywe's"^ holy shrine.

^ One at Llanbedr ; the other between Llanbedr and Dolwreiddiog,
at which he was to meet the conveyance.

^ Pensarn Station. ^ Llanfair.

* Llanenddwyn. ^ Llanddwywe.

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318 PASSES OF CWM BVCfiAN AND t)RWS ARDUDWY.

" Llanaber'* comes in view once more

And Barmouth's rocks from crest to shore,

In gala bright and high galord !^

Then, as with slackened speed we glide

Through tunnel dark to Mawddach's tide —

Oh, glorious sight ! the setting sun,

When now his race was well-nigh run

Poured floods of golden light

On lofty " Cader's" height,

And ** TyrrauV crags, and " Arthog's" woods.

And where the sullen sea-gull broods

On " VriogV rock-bound shore.

And by the " Quakers' Burial Ground "

And Hendre's gabled roof we round

The coast to ** Gwerfyrs wood "* once more.

GWYDDFARCH.

A school festival was going on. * Llwyngwrii,

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319

A8T0R, LENOX AND
Y|. fs^'K. FOUNDATIONS.

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

In printing this first instalment of " Montgomeryshire ^<^
Parochial Registers", it will be well to point out what
an important and practically irreplaceable field of inforr
mation is stored up in these unpretending records.

Their importance will be self-evident when it is
remembered that they embrace in their simple annals :

1. The authentic facts in the history of the families
of the rich and poor.

2. The clues to the devolution of family and local
properties.

. 3. A record of the trades, occupations, and social
condition of the inhabitants.

4. Some index to the healthiness and morality of the
tlistrict.

That records of such singular value should be care-
fully preserved is evidenced by the requirement that
Archdeacons and Rural Deans should, in their Visita-
tions, see that they were properly kept and safely
protected ; and by the provision that a duplicate copy
of 3l\ entries should be sent annually to the Diocesan
Registry. Owing, however, to fire and accidents, to
damp and decay, to occasional carelessness or wilful
damage, to changes in the incumbency, and to the
ravages of the Civil War, there are gaps in the registers
of almost every parish ; indeed, comparatively few
reach back beyond the Restoration. The Commonwealth
was especially disastrous ; and, unfortunately, there
has not been left in the Diocesan Registry at St. Asaph
a single duplicate whereby to test or supplement any
registers of earlier date.

To anticipate the effect of further loss, we propose
to print from time to time, as space will .permit, the

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320 PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

substance of these records; and so to present to
enquirers a clear and full guide to the original sources.
For this purpose there is needed : —

1. Simplicity of arrangement, so that the eye may
have little diflBculty or distraction in the search.

2. All essential details given in the original, but not
necessarily the actual phraseology.

3. Accuracy. This will be provided for by a careful
comparison, by an expert, of the transcript with the
original. So that, although it will have no legal value,
still, in case of the loss of the original register, it may
be relied upon as an authentic record.

The form adopted is the tabular, as giving a bird's-
eye view of the entry combined with brevity and clear-
ness, thus in order : —

1. The names and relationships of the individuals,
and, where given, their places of abode.

2. The nature of the service registered : baptism,
wedding, or burial

3. The date, month, and day.

4. Memoranda inserted in the originals will be
printed in full.

5. A few of the earliest entries will be printed
verbatim et literatim, as specimens of the originals ; but
the rest will be given in an abbreviated and tabular form.

6 means that there is a blank in the original ;

„ „ the word above it is repeated ; ( ) sup-

plied from elsewhere.

In many counties a Society has been established for
the special purpose of publishing these valuable docu-
ments: and this year Shropshire has followed their
example ; but we hope to print some of them at least
on similar lines, as a part of our Collections.

Reprints will be presented to :
a. The Transcriber.
6. The Editor.

c. The Church Chest of the Parish.

d. The Diocesan Registry.
6. The Powysland Library.

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PAUOOHIAL RRGISTBBS.

321

The following Tubles will be found useful to the
transcriber:— •

A. — Abbreviations,

A.B.= Bachelor of Arts

gf. = grandfather

A.M. = Master of Arts

gm. = gi^nd mother

ar. = armiger, esquire

h. = heir

b. = boru

lie. = license

bac = bachelor

mar. = married, wedded

bap. = baptism

par. = parish

br. = brother

s. == son

bur. = buried

si. = son-in-law

elk. = clerk

sp. = spinster

CO. = county

t. = township

d. = died

wid. = widow

da. = daughter

widr. = widower

dal. = daughter-in-law

wf. =» wife

esq. = esqilire

yeo. = yeoman

f. = father

B.—lVades

and Occupations.

sedituus = churchwarden

guardianus = guardian, warden

aerarius = brazier, tinker

lanius » butcher

agricola = husbandman,

mercator = merchant, trader

farmer

miles = soldier

anniger = esquire

nauta ) .|
naviU }=«»''o'"

artifex = artisan

calceolarius = shoemaker

opifex = workman

carbonariu8= collier

pastor = shepherd

citbaroedus = harper

pistor = baker

clericus = clerk

sartor = tailor

coriarius = currier

sutor = cobbler

doliarius = cooper

textor = weaver

eques = knight

tibicen = fiddler

faber = smith

C. — Chronological Data.

1538 (30 Hen. VIII). Registers first ordered to be kept.
1597. Every parish to provide a parchment book, and to send

copies annually to the Bishop.
1603. Enforced by the 70th cauon.
1636. Archbishop Land ordered the mother's name, as well as

thut of the father, to be entered.
1645. The Directory orders the birth, as well as the baptism,

to be registered.
1653. Parliament substitutes lay registrars for the clergy.

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322 PAROCHIAL RBGISTJBRS.

3.6Q7 (18 Charles II). Barial in woollen dotninanded.

1678 (30 Charles II). Affidavit to be entered.

1694 (6 Willm. III). A tax imposed on all entries for five years.

1734. Latin ceases to' be used: previous entries having been

made sometimes in Latin, sometimes in English.
1753. Hardwicke's Act prescribes a form for entering marriages

which is henceforth entered in a separate book.
1783. Duty of 3d. on every entry imposed, but repealed in 1784,
1812. Rose's Act prescribes the form still in use for baptisms

and burials.
1836. Act for the civil registrntion of births, marriages, and

burials ; new form of marriage entry.

MILLWYD REGISTE3RS.

The earliest Register dates from 1568, and reaches
down to 1703. There are two gaps in its continuity :
(1) from 1586-1600, (2) from 1634-1654. This, how-
ever, i^ partly supplied by some irregular entries in a
second small book, at the end of which are some pages
entitled '*A Register Book for Llanymawthwy", to
which parish it must have belonged.

The next volume carries the period from 1710 to
1780; at the beginning is a copy of the Terrier of
1730.

In 1754 the new form of Marriage Register was
introduced, and a separate book kept thenceforth.

The volume 1781-J812 contains the Terrier for 1791.

All these volumes are of parchment, and upon the
whole are well preserved. They contain a very large
number of entries under each year, from which we con-
clude that the population must have been much greater
in the sixteenth century than it has become since : and
this is partly accounted for by the fortunes of Dinas
Mawddwy, which lies within this parish.

Among the peculiarities may be mentioned : —
. 1. The gradual adoption of descriptive names as
Surnames ; — e,g , G6ch, Velyn, Gvyyn, Lloyd, Duy (Du),
Bengrych, Benwyn, Bannwr, Varchog.

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MALLWYD. 323

2. The use of christian names, now obsolete, as Alson,
EUiw, Gole, Gwenllian, Tanglwst, Engiiion, Gyttonyn,
Ynyr.

3. The record of marriages at **Gwanas", a pre- Refor-
mation grange of the Knights Hospitallers (p. 328 w.).

4. The clear, neat handwriting of Dr. John Davies,
the learned rector, 1604-1644, the author of a Latin-
Welsh Grammar, 1621, and Latin-Welsh Dictionary,
1632, and the coadjutor of Bishop Richard Parry (his
brother-in-law), in editing the authorised Welsh version
of the Bible, 1620.

5. Besides the Terriers of 1730 and 1791, the first
volume contains a list of the freeholders, with their
taxation for the Muster Roll, 1693.

Mallwyd was in the diocese of St. Asaph until it
was transferred to Bangor in 1861.

For permission to use the transcript, made literatim
by Mr. Charles Ashton, and printed in full in ''Bygones',
our thanks are due to Mr. Ashton and Mr. Woodall.
We have compared them with the original, and con-
densed them into their present form. D. R. T.

Regtstrdm Ecclik parochialis de Malloyd Dioc. Asaphen

CONTINENS NOMINA OMNIUM ET SINGULORDM BaPTIZATORUM,
CONJUQATORUM ET SePULTORUM IN EA ECCLE8IA.

Mcdloyd,

An'o D*ni 1568.

David ap John was buryed the xxth day of June the yeare

aboue written.
Item lenan ap ll'n ap leuan goz and Katrine vz David ap Owen

was wedded the xxvjth day of June.
Item Gruff, ap Rees ap leuan David was christened the vjth

day of June.
Item Hughe ap John apOwen was christened the vjth day of June.
Item Jane vz John ap Humffrey was christened the xxvijth day

of June.
Item Katrine vz leuan ap howell ap guttyn was buryed the

xxvijth day of June.
Item Owen ap howell ap leuan' was christened the xviijth day

of July.
Item Mallt vz David ap Gruff, was christened the said day.
VOL. XXX. Z

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Google

324

MALLWYD

Ttem lenan ap Jankin ap John
Katrine vz John
David ap John ap IFn ap Rees
Margaret vz leuan ap Rees Wyn
Owen ap Rydderch .
leuan ap Thomas ap Jenkin
Richard ap Gruff ap David ap John
leuan ap Morice ap Rs Wyn .
Mallt vz humffrey ap David Vaughan
leuan ap Robert ap Owen
Morice ap Morgan ap leuan
Thomas ap humffrey ap leuan ap howell

ap Dyo ....
Hughe ap John Lewes ap howell ap Mred
Gwen vz Owen ap U'n ap David ap howell
Elis ap Will'm ap Owen
Mary vz Hughe ap Jeffrey
Elin vz Thomas Vaughan
Thomas ap Jankyn Robert
Gwen vz Hughe ap leuan ap David ap

Tudr . . . .

leuan ap howell ap Hughe ap leuan Duy

Tanglwst vz

David ap Lewis . . )

Margaret vz Mathewe J

Lewis goz ap leu'n ap howell ap David .
David ap Hughe ap Hughe )

Elen vz Owen , . j

Roland ap Sr. John Lloyd
leuan ap Thomas Lloyd, clerke person of

Kernes . . . .

leuan ap Pierse ap Howell ap Ynyr
Margaret vz leuan ap hughe ap David ap

Howell . . . .

Hughe ap leuan David ap Un goz

An'oD'ni 1569.
Res ap Will'm ap Harry in festo annu'ca-

cio'is bte Marie virgin is
John ap Jenkin Rs .
Gwenllian vz U'n

Elizabeth vz Thomas ap Owen Dackin
Margaret vz John Lewis goz .
Morice ap leuan ap Robert Ascension

Day . . . .

bur.

July

• M

Aug.

mar.

bap.

>»

i»

>»

• «i

Sept.

• >»

»»

• >»

Nov.

Dec. 12

bur.

bap.

»»
bur.

Jan.

28
2
3

mar.

Mar.

bur.

Feb.

mar.

bap.

Mar.

bap. Mar. 25

bur. „ 28

,, Apr. 7

bap. May 3

»» >» 8

M ft -ly

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Google

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

325

Item Owen ap John ap IPn . . bap. June 29

Elen vz Gruff ap IPn . . bur. Aug. 7

Malltvz Jeu'n ap Wn ap Jeu'n goz . bap. Sept. 18

Mallt vz hughe David Vaughan . „ Oct. 2

. . . . vz John ap Morice ap Rs . „ „ 9

Thomas ap Rs David ap Howell . bur. „ „

Elen vz howell ap Owen . bap. „ 19
Aut serius aut citius metam properamus ad nnam

Omnia sub leges mors vocat atra suas.

Hughe ap Rees ap John . . bap. Nov. 6

Gwen vz Dauid ap IFn David ap Howell . „ Dec. 21

Robert ap Bedo ap y Duy . bur. „ 29

leuan ap Owen ap John Dackin bap. Jan. 29

Richard ap Rees goz . . „ Feb. 8

Agnes vz Rhydderch Daylior . . „ „ 11

Hughe ap Owen David ap Owen „ Mar. 15

Catharine vz John Dauid . • „ », 15

Richard ap Dauid ap Rs Dauid . „ „ 12

Elizabeth vz Owen ap Morice . • » >, 1^

John ap Richard goz ap Robert . „ „ 22

An'oiynil570.

Morice GrufiT np Robert

Hughe ap Owen Anwyl

Jane vz Owen David ap U'n goz

Hughe ap Robert . )

Gwen vz Gruff . . j

Harry ap leuan ap hughe

Gwen vz John Lewes ap howell ap rnVed

Catherine Lewes

Thomas ap Hughe ap leuan Duy )

Gwen vz David ap ll'n . j

John ap Rydderch ap R's

leuan ap David ap ll'n Daylior \

Mallt vz John his wief . j

Margarete vz Owen y gof

Morgan ap leuan ap hughe . )

Elen vz leu'n . j

Humphrey ap Rs np John, pauper

John ap David ap John y gof .

John ap leuan Dauid

Margaret vz Howell ap Jeuan .

Katrine vz John ap humffrey .

Elizabeth vz WilPm ap Owen .

bur. Apr.
b»p. „
» May

21
30
16

mar.

bur.
bap.

l\i.

22
29
31

mar. „

bap. July

bur. „

mar. Aug. 12

bap. „ 12

mar. Sept. 9

bap. Oct. 28

I'J

Z 2

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-21 . - ::-' ^:

I- 1 u: J. - -^ I : .'r t :

i-T - •' :

HlJ^rlT * IT lr--»*^ IT 1 ▼■: iT M -^2
-Vrl ': . 'V -•! IZ 1 ».: -•!'•. IT 1 W«r^

r _ 1 "^ ^: -i^ -^I'-r 1 T -• r 5 - '

Em n • NtrQ J

letiaix tkp l*ief>e »p Uoneil mp Yojrr

Howell .
Hag he* «p Icaa^K^HWp D n go<

I'm !a6^.

EltS

. 27
N .T. 7

. 16

, . 28
I D^ 12-

bar. .

I r

I
li

Da^>

bip. Sept.
n Oct.

Item Owen ap Joho ap Wn

Ehn V2 Graff up Wu '

AlaDt V2 Jean ap U'o ap Jea'n goi
ifallt ^2 haghe DaTid Vao^tM
• . - , vz John ap ifonce ap Hs
Thomas ap Un Darid ap Howell ] bar. I

Elen vz botreJI ap Owen , baft.

Ant serias ant citim laeUm prciperamos ad tiaam
Omnia spb leg^s mors vocal atra sins.

bap. Nor.
. Dec,

hap. Jftn.

Httghe ap liees ap John

Gwen v^ Duma ap ]] n Daiid ap Howdl

Robert, ap Beiio ap j Duv

leuan ap Owen ap John 'j>aekiii

Richard ap Reea j^oz

Agues vz RhyJderch Daylior ,

Hii^he ap Owen Darid ap Owen

Catharine vz John D>vuid

Richard ap Dauid ap Us Daaid

Elizabeth vz Owen ap Morieo .

Joho ap Richard goz ap Robert

Mar.

An'o D'ni 1570*

Morioe Grufl' ap Robert
Jlu^he ap Owen Auwjl
tf/jiia vz Owen David ap irn goa
/fii^h& tip Robert . , i

ffiWGn vz Gruff . . I

ffiin*y ^P Je?«an ap h tight?

weii ap howdl ap m'wl

bar Apr. :;j

Jitniil

liar. . n

OK Ai^ 13

VMr«. o^pCi. ^
l»pi Oct 2^

mar* ,« f«

WiD'iti ^p O trail

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326

MALLWYD

Item Katrine vz Gruff, lloyd ap David ap John
Elizabeth vz David ap Owen .

An'o D'ni 1571.

Jane vergh Gruff ap Robert

Hughe ap Richard ap David .

Morice ap Thomas Yaughan .

William ap Thomas Vaughan .

Morice ap R*s Wyn .

Margarete vz Dauid ap Dnuid .

leuan ap Dauid lloyd

Margarete vz leuan ap David bengrych

Y Teg ap ll'n ap R's

Howell ap R's ap Gyttonyn

Dauid ap leuan ap Dauid

Alson vz Dauid ap Morice

leuan ap Dauid lloyd ap Thomas

Hughe ap Morice ap Dauid Vych'n

William ap John

EUiw vz Gruff ap Rs

leuan ap Robert ap howell ap Ynyr

Mabley vz Thomas lloyd clerk, vz person

y Kemes
leu'n ap Thomas ap Owen Bedo )

Katharine vz David ap leuan ap Owen f
David ap Lewis ap Grm . )

Jane vz Gruff ap hughe . j

James ap Morice ap leuan lloyd )

Jonet vz leuan ap Ric' . j

Robert ap Thomas ap Hughe ap leuan

Duy . .

Humffrey ap David ap ll'n . |

Mary vz Owen Dd ap Owen . j

Ellisey ap Lewes ap leuan ap Gruff )
Mary vz leuan ap Jenkin j

leuan David ap Ellisey
Rees ap leuan ap Robert
leuan David . )

Agnes vz David ap Rees . |

Owen ap Dauid lloid ap David ap John
leuan ap Robert ap Howell Velyn
leuan lloyd ap Dauid ap Bedo
Richard ap Eliza ap Lewis
Katharine vz Humffrey ap leuan

1 bap.

Dec.

8
21

. bap.

»»

Mar.
Apr.

28
1

. bur.

. bap.

bur.

May

>»

. bap.
. bur.

bap.

»»

June

24
15

ti
>»
»»

»»

»>

July

>»

27
I

mar.

. bap.

Aujjf.

Sept.

mar.

bap. „
mar. Oct. 13

bap. „ 28

„ Nov. 2

mar. Dec. 1

bap. „ 25

» M 26

bur. Jan. 13

bap. „ 18

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PAROCHIAL REGISTBRS.

327

Item Elizabeth vz Bees^ wife of Owen David bur. Jan. 10
ap Ric ....
Lowry vz leuan, wief to Dauid ap Gruff
leuan ap Hughe ap John Duy
Ellisey ap hughe ap Jeffrey
leuan Gruff ap leuan ap leuan^ paup.
Jane Corbet
Rydderch ap R*8
Elizabeth vz Owen ap R*8
Katharine vz ITowell ap Owen .

bap.

»
bur.

Mar.
Feb.

Mar.

bap.

7
2

12
28

5
20
19

An'o D'ni 1572.
Katrine vz Owen Anwyl
Edd ap John ap H'n.
Robert ap Rowland ap Gruff W j u
Will'm ap R's goz ap David np Howell
Elizabeth vz Owen y gof
Thorn's ap leu'n ap Hughe
Marie vz Will'm ap Harry
John Lewes ap Robert
Marret vz Robert
Harry ap Humffrey ap ll'n
Kees ap Morice ap leu'n ap Howell
Katharine vz Dauid lloyd ap John Gruff.
Humffrey ap Thom's ap Owen Dackin .
Margarete vz morgan ap leu'n ap Hughe
Ellen vz Ric ap Howell ap Gruff de

Tavolog or Kem^es
Ellen vz leu'n ap Thomas ap Owen Bedo
Hughe ap Jeffrey

Hughe ap leu'n David Lloyd . )

EUiw vz leu'n lloyd ap David ap John J
Ellin vz Morice ap John Bedo .
Lewes ap leu'n ap R's Wyn . >

Jane vz Gl'm . . )

Margaret vz leu'n ap Gyttonyn ap Gr. ap

John ,
leu'n ap James Morice
Edward ap Owen David ap Owen
Jane vz John ap Jenkin
John ap leu'n ap David ap leu'n
Katharine vz Will'm ap John .
Hughe ap James Morice
Jane vz Morgan vz Morgan (sic) ap R's
Margaret vz Humffrey ap Thom's

bap. April 10

„ „ 17

„ „ 27

„ May 11

» n »>

„ April 28

„ May 18

mar. „ 20

bap. June 1

» » if

„ July 6

» if 1«J

it fi 28

bur. Oct. ]?f

mar. „ 18

at Talyllyn
bap. Oct. 23

mar.

bap.

Nov.

Dec.

28
9

16
23
4
7
14
21

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Google

328

Mallw\*d

Item len'n ap David Lewes

Katherine vz Bllissey ap Lewes ap leu'n

ap Gruffith
John ap lea'n ap Ric )

Jane vz John.ap Robert j

David ap leu'n Lloyd )

Katherine vz John ap Robert . )

David ap Morice ap len'n ap Howell ap

Madocke
Elnor vz Rytherch ap R's ap Yock'
Bllissey ap John David . )

Elizabeth vz Danid ap Bedo

Ellissey ap U'n ap leu'n ap IFu .

Jane vz John Brooke

David ap Gruff

Gwen vz David ap ll'n y Bedo .

John ap Ieu*n David

Katrine vz David ap Hughe ap Hughe

John ap GruflF lloyd ap Dauid ap John

Will'm John Dauid .

Katharine vz Morice ap Will'm

Gwen vz leu'n Jenkin R^s

bap. Dec. 26

„ Jan. 9
mar. „ 13

at Gwanas^
mar. Jan. 15

at Malloyd

bap. „ 29
„ Feb. 2

mar. Jan. 31
at Gwanas^

mar. Jan. 31

bap. Feb. 9

Mar.

An'o D'ni 1573.

Elizabeth vz Hughe ap Ieu*n Duy . bap. Mar. 29

Richard ap John ap Owen Bannwr . „ April 1

Katharine vz Robert ap Hughe Salusbury „ „ 10
Rynald ap Thorn's ap John ap leu'n ap

Hughe . . . . „ „ 25

Katharine vz Will'm ap Owen . • „ » 30

Katherine vz Morice ap David Vychan . „ „ „

^ Gwanas is a farmhouse standing on the right side of the road
leading from Dinas Mawddwy to Dolgelley, and is in the parish
of Dolgelley. From what I gather frono Cantref Meirioiiydd^ p. 72
(which refers to Arch, Camb., October 1884, p. 277), Gwanas at one
time was a parish of itself, and a chapel, or religious house, stood
within a short distance of the present farmhouse. And it appears
from the above entry, as well as another one under the year 1572,
that it was used for religious purposes as late as that year, unless it
can be proved that the solemnization of marriages was then permitted
in unconsecrated buildings. — 0. A. The manor of Gwanas belonged
to the Knights Hospitallers, and was of " Peculiar*' jurisdiction.
The marriages were a survival of that rule. — D. R. T.

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PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

329

Item David ap Richard ap lea'a
Kobt. ap David lloyd.
Elizabeth vz Howell ap leu'n
David ap \Vn ap Y Duy
Thora's ap David ap leu n lloyd
Ellen vz leu^n ap Robert
Thorn's ap Ellissey ap Lewis aPs velyn
Owen ap Rees ap lea'n ap Gruff )

Ellen vz Howell vid de Dolgelley j

Margarete vz David ap gr. ap John
Elizabeth + Lowrie vz Thorn's Vychan or

dugoed . . . .

David ap John ap Morice . )

Ellen vz R's ap Gr ap dyo . )

Margarete vz David ap Robert
Margarete vz David ap U'n dM ap howell
Elizabeth vz David ap Morice ap John ap

Hughe .
Thorn's ap Gruff ap Robert*
David ap Robert ap Morice ap R's wyn
Howell ap U'n ap Dackin
Gruff ap Ellissey ap U'n
Kathrine vz mathewe ap hughe
leu'n ap Thorn's ap Gr. ap Hughe
John ap Robert ap howell ap ynyr
Lewes ap R's Gruff .
Katrine vz Rees goz David ap howell
Richard ap leu'n ap Hughe ap Dauid ap

Howell .
Ellen Oliver
David ap Tud'r Owen
Ellen vz Thomas ap Ieu*n ap Owen
Elizabeth vz leu'n ap Robert .
Katrine vz U'n ap leu^i Daylior

bap. May 6

„ „ 26

„ June 18

,. ., 30

bur. July 4

„ .. 11

bap. Aug. 21

mar. „ 22

bap. Oct. 18

„ Nov. 1

mar. Oct. 31

bur. Dec.
bap.

bur. „

bap. „

it i>

bur. „

bap. „

» it

„ Jan.

Feb.

bur.
mar.

10
29

5
8

.. 20
bur. Mar. 13

An'o D'ni 1574.

Katharine vz Morice ap Will'm, weaver
Richard ap David lloyd ap Thorn's
Thorn's ap Richard ap Gruff Doged
Ellen vz Owen ap D'd ap leu'n
Katrine vz Gr. ap Rynald
John ap Richard dduy o Dafolog
David ap Robert ap Morice ap R's wyn
Piers ap Dauid ap Dauid

bap. May

June

bur.
bap.

o
7

16
26
30
8
12
21

Digitized by

Google

330

MALLWY1>

Item leu'n ap David ap Gr. ap David )

Lowry vz leu'n ap Hughe . j

leu'n David ap Robert ap howell ap

Robert . . . ,

Margarete (Martha) vz Morice ap leu'n

Vychan ....
Hnmffrey ap David ap Lewes ap Hughe .

Hughe lloyd ap Jeu*n lloyd . <

R's David ....
John ap Richard ap leu'n ap Howell

Bedo . . . .

Ellissey ap Morice ap leu'n ap howell ap

Madog ....
Morgan ap R*8 ap Edward
John ap Thom*8 Brooke
Mary vz Thorn's ap leu'n ap IPn ap R's .
Thorn's ap R's ap John
John op leu'n David
David ap Harry ap Robert
Jjowry vz Owen ap ll^n David ap Howell
David ap Howell ap Owen
Lowry vz Owen ap ll'n
Thorn's ap GTm . . |

Katrine vz John . j

Elizabeth vz Robt. ap Howell ap Robert .
Richarvl ap David ap John ap ur.
Robert ap Will'm ap Owen
David ap John ap Richard
Will^m ap Owen ap Morice \

Margarete vz David ap Gruff ap John >

apR's . . j

Thorn's ap Dauid ap Lewes ap GTm
Hnmffrey ap George Corbet
David ap leu'n ap Gruff ap Johny Krydd
Marie vz Thorn's ap Roger of Kemes
Jane vz Robert ap Gruff Doged
David ap leu'n ap Gruff ap John y Krydd
Ellen vz John ap Robert

mar.

July

lat

Llanymowthwy

bap.

July

bur.

bap.

Aug.

bur.

at Westm'ri

bur.

Aug.

bap.

Oct

Nov.

>»

»)

Dec.

bur.

bap.

>»

»»

Jan.

bur.

mar.

bap.

>»

»»

>»

Feb.

mar.

>♦

bap.

>»

5
14

))

>»

bur.

»»

bap.

»i

* As he was buried at Westminster, I conjecture that he was a
person of some note. I have looked through a small work, published
1830, entitled An Historical Description of Westminster Abbei/y its
Monuments and Curiosities, but failed to find any reference to him.
— C. A.

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PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

331

Item Margarete vz leu^n Jenkin R's

Mary vz Grnflf lloyd ap David ap John

Ellissey ap John Lewes goz

Jane vz Will'm ap Owen

Thorn's ap Owen Anwyl

Gwen vz Piers ap howell ap Ynyr

Lowry vz y Bedo vid

bap. Mar.

bur

4
10
13
15
20

Thorn's i

An'o D'ni 1575.

Thomas ap David ap Lewes ap Gl'm

leu'n ap Morice ap John Bedo

Katharine vz mathewe

Mary vz Thorn's ap howell ap Morgan

Ellen vz Rs ap gr ap John

Gwen vz John Sowthall

David ap lea*n ap David ap lea*n

Humffrey ap Hughe ap Dauid Vich^n

Gruff ap leu'n ap David \

Katharine vz dM ap Dauid )

Margarete vz Ellissey ap Lewes ap howell

ap M^edd
David ap howell ap leu'n
John ap Humffrey .
Katharine vz Humffrey ap

Dito ij twynes
Elizabeth vz Owen y gof
Lowry vz Gruff
leu'n ap Hughe ap ll'n
Elizabeth wiJl'm ap Dauid ap R's
Robert ap Morice
Katharine vz Owen ap Morice
Thorn's up Richard Gruff
Robt. ap leu'n
Elizabeth vz leu'n Bedo
John ap leu'n ap ll'n ap leu'n goz
Gruff ap Owen ap Dauid ap Owen
Elizabeth vz morice
Rolande ap leu'n ap Tudr Owen
Ellen vz John ap Lewes ap Howell

me'dd
Dauid ap Lewes ap leu'n ap Rs wyn
John ap Dauid
Howell ap Dauid lloyd
leu'n ap Howell ap Dauid lloyd

bur. Apr. 8

bap. „ 10

bur. „ 26

bap. „ 27

„ May 4

,, 10

„ „ 12

» „ 22

mar. June 11

bap.

,, July 17
bur.

bap. ^, 23

» >> »

mar. Aug, 24
bap. Sept. G

mar. „ 17

bap. Oct. 9

mar. „ 29

bap. Nov. 13

>» ft i»

„ Oct. 2

bur. Nov. 18

bap. „ 26

Digitized by

Google

332

MallwyD

Item David ap leu'n ap Gr Keri parochie de

Llanvyllinge ex Ellena vz Rs matre

eius ....

Thomas ap Robert ap Morice ap Rs wyn .

Katrine vz Dauid ap John y gof, her

mother called Agnes vz Gruff ap leu'n

Uoyd ....

Susanna da. of Ellissey ap ll'n .

Dauid the son'e of Owen ap John Dackin

and Elizabeth vz Gruff his mother
Humffrey ap John ap Owen Bannwr
Margarete vz David ap Lewes ap Hughe
Harry ap \Yn of llanymowthwy
Hughe ap Ieu*n David of Camlan
Thom*8 ap leu'n ap gr. ap Dyo )

Ellen vz Morgan ap David vychan j

Richard ap Humffrey ap leu'n .
Elizabeth vz Morice ap d'd vychan
Margarete vz WilFm ap John .
Marie vz Morice ap Will'm weaver
John ap Rs goz
Owen ap Morgan ap Rs and David ap

Morgan ap Rs ij twynes
Rs apSruffap Morice (illicitus natus) al's
ap Morice Mawr and Marie vz Howell
ap Morice his cone*. The sayd Gruffith
ap Morice dwelleth at Uanvihangell y
pennant in Bangor Dio'
Elizabeth vz Morice David Vych*n
Margarete vz Ieu*n ap Robert .

bap. Nov. 20
„ Dec. 4

„ ,, 10

„ 20

» »> ^5

„ Jan.

„ „ 12

bur. „ 28

bap. Feb. 12

mar. „ 17

bap.

Mar.

bur.
bap.

4
15
16

An'o Dn^i 1576.

Thorn's ap Will'm ap Harry .

Lowry vz Dauid ap IFn David ap Howell

Margarete vz David ap John ap IFn ap
Rs. and Lowry vz U'n ap Rs ap
David . . . .

David ap Jeu'n up Gruff y Krydd and
Thom*s ap leu'n his brother .

Marie vz leu'n ap Morice vid* paup'

WilPm ap Harry paup'

Thorn's ap John Sowthall

Robert ap John David

Rowland ap Thorn's Glm'

bap. Mar.

bur.

bap.

May

25
26

Apr. 15

13
15
18

Digitized by

Google

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

333

Item Elizabeth vz Morice ap John ap Dauid ap

Engnion daughter to Agnes vz Hughe

ap leu'n Duy illegitimate
Thorn's ap John Southall
Elizabeth vz Morice ap John ap Dauid ap

Engnion
Ellen vz Robert ap leu'n
Jane vz David ap Morice ap John ap

David ap Ithell
The suyd Jane vz David
Mary vz David ap Lewes ap Glra*
Humffrey ap Johu ap \Vn
Thomas ap gruff up John als* Vychan
Margarete vz Bichard
Owen ap Robert ap gr'
Richard ap Lewes ap 6r. Bed<»
Gruff ap David bengrych }

Jane vz Ed lloyd . )

Robert ap Gruff ap John )

Alson vz Morice ap Owen )

Ellen vz Thom's ap Owen Dackyn
Owen ap ll'n ap David ap GFm
Elizabeth vz Thorn's ap Howell ap

Morgan ....
John ap leu'n ap Jen kin
Mallt vz Grvff ap Owen David ap Owen .
Margarete vz David lloyd ap David ap

John ....
Elizabeth vz Thorn's ap Howell ap ll'n ap

Dackyn .
Edward ap John Thorn's of Kowarch
Hughe ap John ap Morice up Rs
Robert ap Lewes p'ochie de llanorin >
Gwen vz Morgan ap David Vaughan )
Hughe ap leu'n ap David
Mary vz Thom's ap leu'n ap Gyttyn ap

Dyo .
Wiirra ap Hughe ap Owen of Kernes
Margarete vz Eliissev ap Lewes ap leu'n

apGr' . \ , .

Rs ap John als' Rs Tyler
Richard ap Gruff ap David Bengrych ,
Mary vz Owen ap d'd ap U'n y bedo
Robert ap Owen . . )

Joan vz John Brooke >

bap.

May

. bur.

• »

>»

. bap.
p

June

• »i

. bur.

»>

. bap.

• »»

. bur.

July

Aug.

. bap.

20
24

mar. Sep. 1

bap.
bur.

9
25

bap.
bur.
bap.

Oct.
Nov.

14
21

Dec.

>»

17
18

mar.

bur.

bap.
bur.

Jan.

bap.
bur.
bap.

fj
Feb.

13
26
10

mar.

Digitized by

Google

334

MALLWYD

Item Mary vz Morice ap Will'm bur. Feb. 16

Katrine vz Howell ap leu'n . bap. „ 21

Ellissey ap leu'n ap Gyttyn . bur. „ 2G
Katherine vz leu'n Jeukin Bs and Jane

vz d*d ap ho well ap howelP . . ? Mar. 14

leu'n ap lYn y Bedo . . . bur. „ 15

An'o D'ni 1577.

Robert ap leu'n ap U'n ap Thorn's sone to

Else vz Gruff ap leu'n Varchog ille-

gitimus natus
Lowry vz W*m ap Owen
Mary vz Owen ap Humffrey
David ap John Sowthall
David ap Morgan ap R's
Tudr ap John ap GFrn 1

Elizabeth vz David ap Jenkin . j

John ap Ellissey . }

Katharine vz Owen y gof j

Gwenllian vz Morice .
Gwenllian vz leuan .
Margarete vz Thorn's ap Howell ap

Morgan ....
Thorn's ap Rs .

Rys ap Edward
Dauid ap Tudr Owen
Lowry vz David ap Morice ap John ap*

gotten in fornicac'on upon Gwen vz

Morice his concubine
Jane vz Owen ap Rs Tyler gotten vpon

the body of Margarete vz Rs ap leu'n

in fomicac'on
leu'n ap David ap Ieu*n* ap gyttyn )
Katharine vz John Lewes . j

Elliw vz Rs goz ap David ap Howell
David ap David ap John ap U'n ap Rs

and Ellen vz David ap John gotten

by fornicac'on vpon the body of

Marie vz U'n ap Rs ap David.

1 It is not stated in the register what happened to them — whether
it is a record of burial or christening.

^ The date in this case is left blank in MS.

•* Followed by a blank.

* The second " ap leu'n" is crossed over.

bap. April 19

„ „ 20

M » »>

„ May 26

bur. „ 27

mar. June 15

» » •■■

bap. July^ —

bur. „ 7

bap. Sep. 5

i> }>

bur.

^» »

6
13

bap. Oct. 14

mur.
bap.

18
26

29
30

Digitized by

Google

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

335

Item Howell ap David lloyd

lea'n ap Howell ap David lloyd
AlsoQ V leu'n ap Robert
leu'n ap John ap leu'n als* y gwydd
Howell ap John )

Mary vz EHssey . . j

Howell ap David ap U'n \

pfwerfyl vz John ap Robert . j

Hughe ap lea'n ap Thorn's ap Owen

Bedo . . . .

Will'm ap Meurick of Dolgelly )

Agnes vz Jeffrey of Kernes . j

Katrine vz Gruff, paup.^
Will' in ap John ap David ap Rynald
Margarete vz John Brooke gotten vpon

the bodie of Margarete wen vz David ap

John
leu'n ap Robert ap leu'n
Wiirni ap John ap Ieu*n ap Richard
Elizabeth vz Morice ap leu'n ap Howeli

ap Madocke
Thorn's ap Will'm lloyd ap Morice
John ap Elissey ap Lewes ap leu'n ap gr,
Morice ap David ap Bedo
Elizabeth vz Thorn's ap David lloyd
Elizabeth vz U'n, paup.
Richard ap Rs ap John
Rs ap Howel ap Rs .

bur.
bap.

Nov. 18
„ 26

)>
"

„ 27

mar.

.. 28

bap. Dec. 7
mar. ,. 8

bur.
bap.

„ Feb.
bur.

bap. Mar.
bur. „
bap. „
bur.

26
19

„ 21

„ 25

Jan. 20

28
9

22
4
5

An'o D ni 1578.

Gwerfyl vz David ap leu'n lloyd . bap. „ 27

Ellen vz Thomas ap Howell ap Morgan . „ „ 29
the saide Ellen vz Thorn's . . bur. „ 30

margarete vz Rs ap gr. ap John gotten in

adulterie vpon the body of Katrine vz

John wief to John Lewes goz . bap. April 10

Ellen vz Morice ap Owen ap Morice

Benwyn gotten in fornicac'on vpon the

bodie of Mary vz David goz ap Tudr . „ „ 12
leu'n ap m*edd ap Lewes . . „ » 22

David ap WilFm ap John . . „ „ 17

^ In the margin opposite this entry '
that she was a pauper.

paup" is written, to indicate

Digitized by

Google

336

MALLWYD

Itemmorice vychan ap Hughe

Elizabeth vz John ap Owen Bannwr
Ea ap Robert ap Morice
Rob'tapRiV . . )

Gwen vz dM ap \Yn . . j

Richard ap Tudr ap John ap Orra <

John ap Morice ap Will'm weaver

Jane vz Richard ap Roland Ph'm

Margarete vz John David

leu^n ap Thora's ap Owen Dackyn

Richard ap Robert . . )

Gwen vz Lewes . . j

David ap leu'n Tadr

Lewes ap GruflF \

Jane vz John ap Ric\ j

Rees ap Morice Vychan . |

M'garete vz Owen j

Will'm ap Owen . \

Jane vz Richard . . |

Thorn's ap Kadwaladr

Elizabeth vz David lloyd ap David ap

John gotten in adultery vpon the bodie

of Mary vz leu'n ap I*eun
leu'n ap Robert . . )

Gwen vz Thorn's . . j

John ap Edward ap John Ddof gotten in

fornicac'on vpon the bodie of one

Katharine vz leu'n ap Howell
Rob*t ap John Sowthall
Gwenllian vz Robert ap Owen .
Thorn's ap David ap Thorn's o Davolog
Marred vz Robt and Lowry vz Gruff
Alice vz Lewes Gruff
Richardus ap leu'n lloyd
Jane vz Richard
Thora's ap Howell ap John
Katrine vz John ap Morice ap Rs
Margarete vz David ap Jo'n y gof
Margarete vz ( ) .

Jane vz David lloyd ap David ap John
Elliw vz gr ap David ap John .
Gwenllian vz Robert
leu'n ap Thorn's ap GPm and Dauid ap

Thorn's ap Gl'm being twynes . bap.

bur.

April 29

bap.

May

19
17

mar.

»>

bap.
bur.

20
21

bap.
bur.

»»

bap.

Juno

29
14

mar.

bap.

»»

mar.

July

»:

Aug.

bap. „

Sep.

mar.

bap.

4
5

Oct.

»> », 18

bur. „

bap. Nov. 1

mar. „ „

bap. „ 22

Dec. 25

.. 30

,, 13

bur. Jan. 1

Digitized by

Google

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

337

Item Ellin vz WilVm ap John
Robfc ap Richard Gruff
John ap David and Katharine vz David

beinge begotten byfornicac'on vpon the.

body of Marga^rete Lewea ap Gl'm
Lewes ap Robert ap Tudr begotten by

fornicacon sup' corp' Lowry.vz Ric. ap

Robt .
Lowrie vz Robt sepulta fuit^
Margarete vz leu'n lloyd
Eobertus ap John ap leu n . [

Elizabetha vz Ieu*n .
Gwen vz len'n David lloyd
Willmus Gruff
Katharina vz dd lloyd
Thorn's ap Howell .
Riceus ap leu'n ap Gruff
Elizabeth vz Lewes ap Ieu*n ap Rs wyn
Ric ap Ellice ap leu n ap Gruff
Mary vz Richard ap Howell Bedowe
Lowry vz leu'n Jenkin Rs
Elizeus ap Thorn's ap David lloyd
Ric'us ap Humffrey ap Gl'm
Ellissey ap Thomas d'd lloyd .
Lowrie vz Thorn's ap Howell ap. Morgan

bap. Jan. 11
„ „ 17

bur.

bur.
bap.

18
26

mar. „ 29
bap. „ 31
raar. Feb. 16

Mar.

bur.
bap.

14
21

28
8
9

»
12

»»

20
22

An'o D'ni 1579.

[The entries for 1578 end on fol. 14b of the book, and the
entries for 1580 begin on the same page, so it is quite clear
that nothing was recorded in the year 1579.]

An'o Fni 1580.

Riceus ap John ap Gruff ap John

leu'n ap WilFm lloyd fornicac'oe pro-

creatus sup' corpus Katharine vz David

goz, die d nico
Ric'us ap Howell ap Owen
David ap WilFm dM ap Rs
Johannes ap Will'm .
Lowria vz Hughe
Ric'us ap Howell ap Owen

bap. Mar. 25

mar.
bur.

Apr.

^ Change from English to Latin.

Digitized by

Google

338 MALLWYD

Item Margarete vz Owen ap leu'n ap IFii ap
Jenkin begotten by fomicac'on vpon
the bodie of Katharine vz John ll'n ap
hilyn

Joha'nes Lewes ap Robert
Lowria vz Owen
Gruff ap Hughe ap Dackyn
Dauid ap Tudr ap John ap Gl'm
Lewos ap Owen
Alson vz Rs

Mary vz David ap Lewes ap Hughe
Elen philip

Elizabeth vz moriee ap David Vyohan
Owen ap John

Katharine vz leu'n Tudr Owen
.... vz^ moriee David Vychan
Katharine vz John Owen
Katharine vz Owen d'd ap leu'n
Ieu*n ap WilFm lloyd
Si by 11 vz Hughe Gwyn ap Ellissey
Rob't ap John
Alison vz David ap John
David ap Will'm barker
Lowry vz David
Mary vz Will'm ap Owen
David ap Owen Dackin
Margarete vz Thom*s
Elizey ap leu'n ap Robert
John ap Howell goz .
Katharine vz John
leu'n ap Richard
Jane vz David ap John ap Gr .
Tanglwst vz leu'n ap leu'n
David ap Lewes Gruff
Howell wyn ap Moriee
David ap Tudr ap John ap GPm
Roland ap leu'n David ap leu'n
Gyttyn .

Lewes ap leu'n ap Gruff

1 Return to English.

* Her name is omitted ; but probably Elizabeth, who was christened
June 16th {vide supra).

Digitized by VjOOQIC

•

bap. Apr. 25
(StM'ksDay)

}

mar.

May 4

bur.

it »»

bap.

„ 22

mar.

June 11

bap.
bur.

„ 12

„ 16

bap.
bur.

» If

„ 20

bap.
bur.

ft »»

„ 28

bap.

July 1
„ 24

bur.

,. 27

}}

Aug. 8

mar.

,. 13

»» '

St'pt. 11

bap.

.. 27

mar.

.. 17

bap.

Oct. 12

mar.

,. 22

bap.

Dec. 4

bur.

it it

•

bap.
bur.

,, 11
„ 16

»»

„ 17

bap. „ 21

(St. Tho's Day.)

bur. Jan. 10

PAROCHIAL REGISTERS.

339

Item Richard ap Robert .

Ellen vz Robert ap Owen
Richard ap Gruff ap Owen
Elnor vz Hughe ap John Dackyn
David ap Wiirm David ap Rs .
Katharine vz David ap Ten'n ap Owen
Hughe ap Ellissey ap ll'n
David ap leu'n lloyd ap David
Richard ap Robt ap John ap leu'n
Edward ap Ieu*n d*d ap leu'n
Hughe ap David ap Hughe
Qolej vz Howell

Margarete vz Will'm Morgan begotten
by fornicac'on vpou the bodie of Eliza-
beth vz Gruff varchog
David ap Jenkin ap John
Rowland ap Thorn's ap Will'm .
Richard ap Ellissey ap Lewes
ao Grr .

ap gr .
David ap Lewes ap Owen

leu'n

An'o D'ni 1581.
John ap Thomas ap gr ap Hughe

Ellen vz leu'n gr .

Katharine vz leu'n David

Hughe ap leu'n ap Thorn's

Edward ap Will'm Phillipes begotten by

fornicac'on vpon the body of M'garete

vz Lewes ap Hughe
Margarete vz David lloyd ap Thorn's
Alson vz Hughe ap Huraffrey .
Hughe ap Howell ap Owen
Humffrey ap Rs goz .
Harry ap Thorn's ap Howell ap Morgan .
Symond ap John ap .
John Kynwrig of the p'ishe of llanelwey
Elizabeth vz David .
Rs ap John . . >

Ellen vz David ap Jeffrey . J

Mary vz John

Will'm ap John ap Hughe . )

M'garete vz John David ap Rs j

David ap Will'm ap leu'n
VOL. XXX.

bap.

Jan.

>»

»»

bur.

Feb.

>»

»>

bap.

bur.

Mar.

bap.

bur.

»>

bap.

»»

bur.

bap.

Mar.

(Easter Day)

>»

Apr.

bur.

bap.

May

bur.

June

bap.

July

})

June

July

bur.

Sep.

Oct.

bap.

mar.

bap.

Nov.

mar.

Deo.

bur.

Digitized by VjC

340

MALLWYD.

Item Elissey ap WilFm

Mary vz Morice Vychan

Jane vz Tudr ap John

Katharine vz Howell ap John

David ap ll'n ap leu'n

Margarete vz Gruff ap John ap Rs

leu'n ap Lewes ap Ieu*n ap Rs wyn

David np John ap leu'n

Jane vz Dauid lloyd ap David

Hughe ap WilFm lloyd

Elizabeth vz David ap Thorn's

Rs ap WilPm ap Owen

Elizabeth vz Robert vychan borne

adultery vpon the body of Mary

Lewes goz
Hughe ap WiU'ra lloyd
Katharine vz leu'n ap Howell
Hughe ap Owen ap John
Duvid ap Hughe ap Jeffrey
Jane vz Ellissey ap Lowes
Elizabetha vz David ap Morice
Edwardus ap Owen ap David ap leu'n
Lowria vz Dauid ap Rs ap John
Lowria vz David ap Thora's
Elizabeth vz Robert ap John
WilTm ap Owen
Gwen vz Gruff ap John
Elliw vz Owen ap Huinffrey
Rowlandus ap Robert ap Morice

in
vz

mar. Dee.
bap. „

bur.

»» »
bap.

» »»

bur.
bap. Jan.

>» »»

bur.

bap.
bur.

bap.

mar. Feb.
bap.

Mar.

bur.
bap.

9
13

16
19
20
24

>»

28
»>

•i

Digitized by

Google

341

^\BK^^''l

--:'.^o^u^?Si-

OBITUARY NOTICE.

The Rev. George Sandford, M.A., V.-P.

This name, so familiar to our members as heading
many pleasant and instructive articles on the history
and genealogy of Powysland, we regret to have to place
to-day above his obituary. Mr. Sandford joined the
Powysland Club in 1870, the third year of its existence,
and his first contribution to the Collections appeared in
the fourth volume, being one of a series of attractive
papers on " Historic Spots", which embraced " Math-
raval", "Dolforwyn", "Cefn Digoll",and'*TheBreidden
Hills". From that time onwards, hardly a volume was
issued without some valuable contribution from his pen,
as will be seen from the list which we append. This
current volume contains two such papers, entitled
respectively, *'Rowton Castle" and **The Eight
Knightly Families of Shropshire who have borne Arms
from the Fifteenth Century", to which last is added a
list of ** The Twenty Gentle Families" of the same
county, which, however, he was not spared to complete.
But it is not only the quantity and the quality of his
varied contributions that claim our grateful acknow-
ledgment ; we cannot forget the kindliness and the
readiness with which he ever responded to our appeal
for help. His election as a Vice-President of the Club,
as some recognition of his literary services, was intended
as an honour, and as such was greatly appreciated.
His archaeological studies, however, were not his life-
work : they were only the relaxations, the parerga, of
a long and active ministry in Sheffield and Ecclesall,
where he passed peacefully to his rest on Friday,
September 16th, in the eighty-second year of his age.
We add from the Sheffield and RotJierham Inde-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

342 OBITUARY NOMCE.

pendent, of September 17th, the following appreciative
notice of his character and work : —

" Mr. Sandford belonged to the ancient Shropshire family of
Sontford, Sonforde, or Sandford, which has held the same
estates since the time of the Conqueror. Burke, in the
preface to his * Landed Gentry*, mentions the family as one of
the oldest in England. *It would', he says, 'indeed be diflScult
for either France or Germany to rival the claims to hereditary
nobility of such untitled families as Giffard of Chillington,
Sandford of Sandford,* etc. The founder of the family came
into England with the Conqueror, and his name occurs in every
known copy of the Battle Abbey Roll. The Rev. George
Sandford was descended from the founder of the house in
a direct line, belonging to a younger branch, the Sandfords of
the Isle of Rossall, Salop, who trace their lineage through
Nicholas, third son of Nicholas, lord of Sandford, who in 1426
obtained a grant of The Lee, near Whitchurch, to himself and
his Eon Thomas. Mr. Sandford was the third son of the late
Rev. Humphrey Sandford, J. P., of the Isle, and was born at
Shrewsbury on Oct. 5th, 18J6. He was entitled to quarter the
arms of no less than ten other families with his own. His
family is noted for longevity. His elder brothers are still
living, Mr. Humphrey Sandford, J.P., the present owner of the
Isle, being nearly 87 years of age, and Mr. FoUiott Sandford,
who practises as a solicitor in Shrewsbury, nearly 84.

" Mr. Sandford was educated at Shrewsbury School, where
he was the contemporary of a number of celebrated men,
including Archbishop Thomson, Lord Cranbrook, and Bishop
Eraser. He displayed a great taste for classics, and it was
expected that he would obtain distinction at Cambridge,
whither he went in 1837, obtaining a scholarship at Magdalen.
The old rule, which insisted upon proficiency in mathematics
as essential to the taking of a degree, hampered his classical
success, and as he had no special taste for mathematics
he only succeeded in passing high in the second class in
honours. He obtained his B.A. in 1840, in which year
he was ordained deacon, and entered upon the curacy of
Acton, in Cheshire. In 1841 he was ordained a priest, in
1843 he took his M.A. degree, and in the same year he came
to SheflSeld. During the whole of the 55 years that have
elapsed since then, his connection with Sheffield continued
unbroken, and 52 of those years were divided between the
incumbencies of two parishes — St. Jude's, Eldon, where he
stayed 34 years, and Ecclesall, of which he was vicar 18 years.

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OBITUARY l^OTiC^ 343

" His first appointment in the town was that of Vice-Principal
of the Collegiate School, at the head of which was Dr. Jacob.
Animated by a warm sympathy with the cause of higher
education, he carried on his work enthusiastically, and he early
became associated with the Church of England Instruction
Society, the forerunner of the present Church Institute. He
became honorary secretary of the society, and devoted mucli
time to the organisation of the classes, which were held, at
different times, in Carver Street, Surrey Street, and elsewhere.
The society was then governed by a committee, which included
several well-known men, and amongst its most active sup-
porters were Mr. James Montgomery and Dr. Favell, the father
of the late Archdeacon Pavel). Subsequently, when the
Institute was established, Mr. Sandford was appointed one of
the trustees.

" He took up ministerial work in Sheffield upon the creation
of a number of now parishes in 1846. One of these consisted
of the Eldon street district, having an area of 45 acres, and a
population at that time of 5273, and of this Mr. Sandford was
appointed the first vicar. There was no separate church for
the district, which was, before the division, attached to
St Jameses Church. The new vicar s duties lay in a somewhat
depressiug neighbourhood, and ho had many diflSculties to
contend with. The site of the present church was, to use his
own words at a later date, * a heap of rubbish,* and a patron
could not be found. Services were at first held in a schoolroom
in Devonshire lane, adjoining a room used by St. James's, and
now turned into workshops. Mr. Sandford drew a large
number of members around him, and carried on an energetic
and successful work. His connection with the Church Instruc-
tion Society brought him into especial touch with the young
men of the district, and a good part of his congregation was
composed of them. The need of a church was felt very soon,
and the vicar at once began the work of collecting funds for
building. He was unable to form a responsible committee for
some time, and his appeal did not meet with a hearty response
in SheflBeld, but he secured the co-operation of a few liberal-
minded townsmen, and was also helped by friends who were
strangers to the town. The persistence with which he worked
may be judged from an anecdote which he afterwards told, of
his ' acquiring an unenviable notoriety' by Sir John Pakington
(afterwards Lord Hampton) reading a letter of his, seeking
help, before the House of Commons. He succeeded in raising
the money required, and St. Jude's Church was built, ' upon
32 pillars extending through a coal pit into the solid ground',

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344 OBITUARY NOTICE.

the first stone being laid by Mr^. Younge on May 14th, 1848,
and the opening ceremony taking place in the following year.
The national school was built next, and finally the Eldon
vicarage. The reverend gentleman's ministry in the parish
was a very successful one. He was a rapid and fluent speaker.
His style of preaching was oratorical and impressive, and his
sermons were alwajs well studied. One of his most noteworthy
characteristics were his unfailing courtesy and politeness-
qualities which endeared him to all with whom he came in
contact. In March, 1872, his completion of a quarter of a
century's ministry was celebrated by the presentation to him
of a set of robes and an illuminated address, as marks of the
love and esteem of his congregation. When his long pastorate
was brought to a close in 1880, he was presented with another
address, which stated that during the 34 years he had been
vicar of the parish, he had faithfully and with unwearied
zeal performed the office of a Christian minister of the Church
of England.

" It was to Ecclesall, the parish with which he has been con-
nected for the past 18 years, that Mr. Sandford removed
from St. Jude*s, succeeding the Rev. Edward Newman, who
had been vicar for 24 years. The deceased gentleman's
pastorate of the country church was marked by the same
qualities which had distinguished his pastorate of a parish in
the heart of the city. He had no church building to do at
Ecclesall — the church's centenary was celebrated during his
incumbency — but there were improvements which needed
money, and which he carried out. The churchyard was enlarged
at a cost of £1,100, and a new organ was purchased at a cost
of £500, and Millhouses Mission, the cost of which was £1,500,
was only opened by the Archbishop a year or so ago. Mr.
Sandford's teaching was of a character calculated to win for him
the respect of all sections of Christians. It was what is
generally understood as " sound," and he was a worthy example
of that type of Christian churchman so well represented by the
late Archdeacon Blakeney. His sympathies were broad, his
teaching was evangelical, and he welcomed the co-operation, in
all kinds of Christian work, of those who belonged to a different
communion to himself. He took little or no part in public
affairs, but lived the life of a good parson, held in respect by
clergy and laity alike. When questions of importance arose,
he was often chosen as the mouthpiece of the clergy of the city.
When he completed his eightieth year, in October, 1896, his
worth was recognised both by his clerical colleagues and his
congregation. The latter presented him with an illuminated

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OBITUARY NOTICE. 345

address and a case of catlery^ and the present of the clergy took
the form of an address, bearing signatures of 33 incumbents, in
which appreciation was expressed of the example of faithfulness.
Christian courtesy, and gentlemanly conduct he had ever set
before them. They sincerely prayed that God's best bless-
ings and comforts might sustain and prosper his remaining
days.

*' Mr. Sandford, from his long connection with SheflSeld,
possessed a great amount of knowledge of the church life of
the city, and in March last year he read a very interesting
paper before the Parish Church Literary Society on his clerical
reminiscences. He was a frequent contributor to literature,
and was chiefly fond of dealing with the archaeology and
genealogy of his native county.

'^ He was for many years a member of the Board of the Royal
Hospital, which is situated in St. Jude's parish, and he was also
a trustee of that institution. He was a trustee of the Blind
Institution, and, from 1853 to 1878, chaplain of the Sheffield
General Cemetery.

" Mr. Sandford married, in 1860, Miss Elizabeth A. Barlow,
elder daughter of the Rev. Henry Barlow, for many years vicar
of Pitsmoor» and sister of the Rev. Prebendary Barlow, D.D.,
vicar of Islington. Mrs. Sandford died November 21st, 1897
They had a family of nine sons, six of whom survive. One is
the Rev. Polliott G. Sandford, vicar of Sharrow, and chairman
of the Sheffield School Board ; and another, Mr. H. B. Sandford,
of the firm of Rodgers, Thomas, and Sandford, solicitors,
Sheffield."

He was laid to rest amid many demonstrations of
affection and respect, on the following Tuesday,
September the 20th, in the consecrated ground adjoining
the Church in which he had ministered for eighteen
years, and in the grave where his wife and two children
had been buried. D R T

List of Artirles contributed by Mi\ Sandford.

Vol. iv, 40.—** Historic Spots : Mathraval."

Vol. V, 153, 353, 409.—** Herbertianu" (G. S., M. C. J., H. W. LI.).

Vol. vi, 387.—** Historic Spots : Dolforwyn."

Vol. vii, 125; viii, I. — ** Herbertiana."

Vol. viii, 55.—** Historic Spots : Cefn Digoll.'*

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346 OBITUARY NOTICE.

Vol. viii, 265.—" Historic Spots : The Breidden Hills."

Vol. ix, 157.—" The Name of Montgomery."

Vol. X, 61. — " Montgomery Castle."

Vol. X, 397.—" The Abbey of Ystrad Marchell." Supplemental
information.

Vol. xii, 205. — " Montgomeryshire in its conneotion with the
Marches of Wales."

Vol. xiii, 333. — " The Devolutions of the Manor, or reputed Lord-
ship, of Leighton, with Pedigree of the Corbets, Flints, and Plimleys."

Vol. xiv, 293. — " Incidents in Montgomeryshire during, and also
before and after the Civil War, in the time of Charles I and during
the Commonwealth."

Vol. XV, 75. — "The Fortresses of Radnorshire on the Borders of
Montgomeryshire.

Vol. XV, 361. — "Fowls Castle — Past and Present" (in conjunction
with M. C. J.).

Vol. xvi, 93. — " Montgomery Castle." Supplementary details.

Vol. xviii, 229.— " The House of Gregjnog. T|;ie Blayneys and
the Hanbury-Traceys, Lords Sudeley."

Vol. xxi, 65. — " Genealogical Sketch of W. R. Stokes, the Donor to
the British Museum of the Herbert MSS. in 1829."

Vol. xxi, 89.—" The House of Brogyntyn."

Vol. xxii, 17. — "Montgomeryshire Horses, Cobs, and Ponies"
(G. S., E. R. M., M. C. J.).

Vol. xxii, 217.— "The Herberts during the Wars of the Roses."

Vol. xxiii, 1.— "The Right Rev. Samuel Butler, DD., Head Master
of Shrewsbury School and Bishop of Lich6eld."

Vol. xxiv, 139.— Vlaidd Rhudd and his Descendants.*'

Vol. xxiv, 295. — " Royal Alliances of Powysland."

Vol. XXV, 73. — "Walsh of Llandewi, Radnorshire (Lord Ormath-
waite)."

Vol. XX viii, 1. — The Lords of Mawddwy and their Descendants, the
Earis of Bradford."

Vol. xxviii, 165.— " Herbertiana. The Hon. Robert Henry CI ive ;
Glendower and Hotspur ; William Habington.'*

Vol. xxviii, 293. — "The Mortimers and their Fortresses in Powysland
and its Bordei-s."

Vol. xxix, 297. — "The Lingen-Burtons of Longner, near Shrews-
bury.*'

Vol. XXX, 236.—" Rowton Castle."

Vol. XXX, 242.—" The Eight Knightly Families of Shropshire who
have borne Arms from the Fifteenth Century."

Vol. XXX, 258.— ** The Twenty Gentle Families of Shropshire."

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MONTGOMERYSHIRE

CONTENTS OF VOL. XXX.

The Original Purpose of the Formation of the Club, its Laws

and Amended Eegulations - - - v

The Rules of the Powys-land Museum and Library - x

Council and Officers of the Club and of the Museum - xii

List of Members, December 31 st, 1898 - - - xiii

Report of the Annual M eeting, 1 898 - - - xvii

Obituary of Membera, 1897 and 1898- - - - xxx^
Lecture by Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., F.S.A., on

" Prehistoric Man in the Iron Age'' - - - xxxi
List of Literary Societies with which the Powys-land Club

exchanges publications . . - - xxxvi

Parochial History of Tregynon. By W. Scott Owen, Es(i.

(a) General and Statistical - - - - 1

(6) Ecclesiastical - - - - - 24

(d) The Orange of Qelynog - - - - 75
(c) Family Histories - - - - 84

{/) Nonconformity - - - - - 145

Appendix of Poems relating to Tregynon, with Translations 1 50

Montgomeryshire Folk-lore. By the Rev. Elias Owen, F.S.A. -

The Severn. By Tho. John Da vies, Esq. -

The Annual Meeting, 1897 -

Rhayader and its Antiquities. By S. W. Williams, Esq., F.S.A.

Row ton Castle. By the Rev. George Sandford, M.A.

The Eight Knightly Families of Shropshire who have borne
Arms from the Fifteenth Century. By the Rev. G. Sand-
ford, M.A. .

- 243

- 246

- 24S
• 250^

- 252

- 253

- 255

- 250
a '2

Corbet of Acton Reynald, Shrewsbury

Leighton of Loton -

Sandford of Sandford - •

Kynaaton of Hard wick

Cornwall of Delbury

Burton of Longner

Harley of Down Rossall

Tyrwliitt of Stiiiley Hall

169
177
203
211
236

242

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The Twenty Gentle Families of Shropshire. By the Rev. G.

Sandford, M.A. - - - - - 258

Forden Tithes. By E. S. Mostyn-Pryce, Esq., M.A. - 260

Roads. Bridges, Lands, and Railways of Montgomeryshire. By

Charles E. Howell, Esq., of Rhiewport - - 282

The PrflB- Reformation Grammar School of Montgomery. By D.

Lleufer Thomas, Esq., M.A. - - - 291

Strata Marcella and the Monks' Fields. By D. R. T. - 301

Montgomeryshire Folk-lore. By the Rev. Elias Owen, F.S.A. - 307
The Passes of Cwm Bychan and Drws Ardudwy. By '* Gwydd-

farch" - - - - - 313

Parochial Registers - - - - - 319

Mallwyd Registers - - - - - 322

Obituary Notice - - - - - 341

Rev. George Sandford, M.A., V.-P. - - 341

Supplement. — Montgomeryshire Records - - 65-224

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Tregynon Church : —

Exterior - - - - - 24

Interior - - - - - 27

Wall Painting - - - - 29

(irogynog : — - - - - - 84

Arms of the Blayneys - - 85

Portrait of Mr. Arthur Blaynev - - 110

The Old Hall and Armorial SIn.lds - - - 119

The Sudeley Badjre - - 133

The Lodge - - - - - 134

The Source of the Severn - - - - 177

Dolforwyn : The Maiden's Mead - - 187

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Proposal for a Society or Glab, to he railed the " Powys-land
Club/* /or the Collecting and Printing, for the use of its Members,
of the Historical, Ecclesiastical, Gtyrvealogical, Topogo^aphical, ami
Literary Remains of Montgomeryshire.

It has occurred to more than one gentleman connected with
Montgomeryshire, that it would be desirable to begin an his-
torical and archaeological collection for that county.

The county is rich in the remains of former ages, comprising,
as it does, nearly the whole of the ancient principality of Upper
Powys and other scenes of historic interest, and yet having
hitherto formed a portion of Wales which has not received its
due proportion of archaeological illustration.

A county history is the great desideratum ; but considering
the varied quali6cations required to meet in one person to
enable him to write a good county history, who is equal to
such a herculean task?

It is seldom that in one mind can be found " the profundity
of knowledge, the patient and laborious research, the skill in
generalisation, the talent for detail, the aptitude for so many
and so varied investigations, the taste, energy, and self-sacri-
ficing zeal which can carry such labour to a successful termina-
tion.'' The late Walter Davies was the only man that could be
named who would have been equal to the undertaking.

In the absence, however, of a county history, an historical
and archaeological collection for this county, specifically, would
be both valuable and interesting.

It would be, in fact, to carry out, but in more detail with
reference to Montgomeryshire, the idea which was broached
with respect to all the counties of Wales in the first number of
the Archceologia Cambrensis, in the article — "On the Study
and Preservation of National Antiquities."

Following the model of other societies, it is proposed that
the collection should include —

1. A Monasticon, or a record of all monastic remains, whether
buildings, tombs, inscriptions, utensils, seals, etc. [This is already
in progress, but, from the few religious houses in the county, will not
be extensive.]

2. An EccleHasticoUy or a similar record of all that relates to paro-
chial churches and chapels, whether of the established church or of
any description, etc., and of all objects such as tombs, crosses, etc.,
connected with them.

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3. A Castellnrium^ a similar record of castellated remains.

4. A Mansionariumy a similar collection relating to all ancient
manor-houses, mansions, and houses of a certain degree of import-
ance, and to their connected remains.

5. A Villare and ParocMale, applying to all buildings and remains
of towns, villages, parishes, etc., including all public civil buildings,
etc.

6. A Chartulariumy including as complete an account as practic-
able of all ancient documents referring to the five preceding classes.
The manorial history of the county may be illustrated, and the Public
Record Office and the muniment rooms of the magnates of the county
would form an almost inexhaustible source of information under this
division. It would be proposed to print the original documents in
extenso where thought of sufficie'Jt interest.

7. An ObituariuM^ containing notices of pedigrees of ancient
families, notices of celebrated chai*actei*s, and collections of all that
relates to the public and private life of all classes who are or have
been inhabitants of the district.

8. An Ordinary of Arnis^ containing authentic copies of all existing
remains of mediaeval heraldry. — Drawings and copies of inscriptions,
etc., on church windows, monuments, etc.

9. The collecting and printing of MS. collections connected with
the district, or throwing any light on any of the families of the
county.

10. An Itiiterariam. Notices, plans, and surveys of all British,
Roman, or other ancient roads or ways, etc.

11. Traditions, customs, folk-lore, ballads, etc.

Various topographical and genealogical articles have appeared
in publications that are rare and difficult of access, and it
would be proposed to reprint such of these articles as may be
thought of sufficient interest and value, with such additions as
may be procurable ; for instance : the topographical accounts
of the parishes of Meifod and Llanwnog, which appeared in the
Cambrian Quarterly Beview, and the accounts of Garthbeibio,
Llangadfan, and Llanerfyl, and of Llanyraynech, that appeared
upwards of seventy years ago in the Camh%an Register ^ and
such like. They would form models for topographical accounts
of other parishes.

And it is wished to reprint several of the articles bearing
upon Montgomeryshire which have already appeared in the
Archceoloffla Cambreiufis,

It is proposed to print the articles in parts, as they are
available, and not necessarily in any particular classified order ;
but when a sufficient number to form a volume is collected^ to
make the information easily accessible by means of copious
Indices,

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Vll

It is also proposed to make such arrangements with the
Cambrian Archaeological Association as may be found mutually
desirable and practicable. It is the wish of the promoters of
this scheme to form the closest connection with that well-tried
and excellent institution. The scheme may appear extensive,
but it will be carried out only so far as materials offer and
opportunity occurs.

This preliminary proposal was circulated in the first instance
in influential quarters, with the view of testing how far the
scheme met with approval, and was likely to be supported.

The collection of two or three facts — in themselves, and,
while separate, comparatively unimportant — will often be found
to throw light on each other, and will not unfrequently lead to
the clearing up of doubtful points, or the discovery of error.
In this light all may assist in the work proposed.

" If a collection could be made/' said the late Dr. Stanley,
Bishop of Norwich, " of all the isolated and floating facts con-
nected with the various branches of topographical knowledge,
it is obvious that thus an invaluable body of information and
ample store of materials might be amassed, of the utmost im-
portance to the traveller, the antiquarian, the man of science,
and the naturalist." The custodian of ahnost every parochial
register may find in it much that is novel and valuable. Any
accurate observer who will transcribe all the monumental in-
scriptions in any church, chapel, or burial-place, would render
valuable service.

If it meet with support, it is intended to organise and carry
it on with the honorary assistance of such as consent to associate
themselves for the purpose ; the necessary funds for printing
and illustrating, transcribing public records, etc., being pro-
vided by the subscription of the members. But it is by no
means wished to restrict the Association to pecuniary sub-
scribers only. Contributors of archaeological information of all
the descriptions before indicated would be welcomed as mem-
bers with as much warmth as pecuniary subscribers.

MORRIS C. JONES,

20, Abercromby Square, Liverpool.

T. 0. MORGAN,

Aberyatwith.

Ut March, 1867.

Hon, Sees.
pro tern.

The Club was constituted on the 1st October, 1867 ; when
Part I was issued to the members, and the following Rules
adopted : —

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ORIGINAL LAWS OF POWYS-LAND CLUB.

I. The Club shall consist of not more than one hundred Members.

II. The Council shall consist of the following persons, in whom
the management of the Club shall be vested, that is to say, the
President, Vice-Presidents, the Secretaries, Treasurer, and twelve
other Members.

III. That the following gentlemen shall constitute the first Officers
and Council of the Club : —

PreMdetU — The Earl of Powis.

Vict' PrcsideiU*^ -Thv. Lord Sddkley ; The Bishop of St. Asaph ;

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, B^rt.

Rev. E. L. Barnwell, M.A.,

Melksham, Wilts.
Edmund Buckley. Esq., M,r.,

Plas Dinas.
J. Pryce Drew, Esq., M.A.,

MUford, Newtown.
Rev. John Edwards, M.A.,

Rectory, Newtown.
Ven. Archdeacon Ffoulkes, M.A.,

Rectory, Llandyssil.

David Howell, Esq.,

Dolguog, Machynlleth.
Rev. D. Phillips Lewis, M.A.,

Vicarage, Guilsfield.
Hon. Chas. Hanbury Tracy, M.P.,

Gregynog, Newtown.
Pryce Buckley Wiluames, Esq.,

Peonant, WelshpooL
Rev. Robert Williams, M. A. ,

Rectory, Llanfyllin.

Abraham Howell, Esq., j C. W. Williams Wynn, Esq., M.P.,

Rhiewport, Welshpool. ' Coed y Maen, Welshpool.

Hon. TrtoJinrer—TBOUAS Bo wen, Esq. (Messrs. Beck & Co.). Welshpool.

HoH, Secretaries— Mo'&tLis C. Jones, Esq , 20, Abercromby Square, Liveqpool

(and Gungrog, Welshpool) ; T. O. Morgan, Esq., Aberystwith

(and Lincoln's Inn).

IV. A General .Meeting of the Members shall be held annually, on
the first day of the month of October, or on a day soon after, and at
such place as the Council shall appoint. And the President, or iu his
absence one of the Vice-Presidents, shall have power to call Extra-
ordinary General Meetings, on giving, through the Secretaries, a fort-
night's notice to the Members.

V. The Council shall be elected at a General Meeting, to continue
in office for three years, and be capable of re-election.

VI. The names of the Members proposed to be elected into the
Council shall be transmitted by the proposers to the Secretaries one
fortnight before the General Meetings ; and notice of the peraons so
proposed shall be forwarded by the Secretaries to all the Members.

VII. At the General Meetings votes for the election of the Council
may be given either personally, or 6y letter addressed to the Secre-
taries ; but no Member shall be entitled to vote at a General Meeting
whose subscription is in arrear.

VI IT. Any vacancy which may occur in the Council, or in the
offices of Secretaries or Treasurer, shall be provisionally filled up by
the Council.

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IX. Those gentlemen who have assented or do assent to the«e rules,
and have signified their wish to become members, shall be deemed
original Members of the Society.

X. Subsequent Members may b« elected by ballot at any one of
the General Meetings, according to priority of application, upon being
proposed in writing by two existing Members. One black ball in five
shall exclude.

XL The subscription of each Member shall be paid in advance to
the Treasurer, and shall be as follows : — Any Member of the Cam-
brian Archaeological Association who shall become an original Member
of the Club shall pay the annual sum of half-a-guinea ; any other
Member of the Club shall pay the annual sum of one guinea. If any
Meoibcr's subscription shall be in arrear for two years, and he shall
neglect to pay his subscription after being reminded by the Treasurer,
he shall be regarded as having ceased to be a Member of the Club.

XII. The Council may elect as an Honorary Member any gentle-
man contributing papers or information such as shall, in their judg-
ment, be in furtherance of the objects of the Club.

XIII. The objects of the Club shall be carried out with the hono-
rary assistance of the Members, and the funds of the Club shall be
disbursed in printuig and illustrating such information as shall be
contributed by the Members, searching for and transcribing public
records, etc., and the necessary expenses of the Club.

XIV. The Members are earnestly invited to contribute articles and
information ; and contributors of papers shall be entitled to twelve
copies of such articles.

XV. Every Member not in arrear of his annual subscription will be
entitled to one copy of every publication of the Club, to be delivered
as soon as it shall be completed.

XVI. The Council shall determine what numbers of each publica-
tion shall be printed, and the copies over and above those required
for the Members shall be sold to the public at such time and price as
may be fixed by the Council, and the proceeds to be carried to the
account of the Club.

XVII. No alteration shall be made in these Laws, except at an
Anniversary Meeting; one month's notice of any proposed alteration
to be communicated, in wnting, to the Secretaries. •

At the second Annual Meeting of the Club, held on the 11th of
October, 1869, in pursuance of notice given in accordance with Rule
XVII, the following alterations in the Laws were made—

** That the Club shall be extended and shall consist of not more
than two hundred members ; all additional Members shall pay the
annual subscription of one guinea."

" That the Secretary shall be at liberty to admit Members up to
that enlarged limit ; the applicants for membership who are willing
to pay the back subscriptions so as to entitle them to the back parts
of the publications of the Club, to have the preference.'*

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" That the Secretaries shall also be at liberty to admit new Mem-
bers to supply vacancies caused by death, or resignation, or non-pay-
ment of subscriptions.**

" That the following words be added to Rule XII : *or may present
him with a copy of all or any of the publications of the Club.' "

At the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Powys-land Club,
held on October 5th, 1874, the following were adopted as

**The Kules op the Powys-land Mqskum and Library."

1. The Museum and Library shall be open to the public on Satur-
days and Mondays from Ten to Four, on payment by each person of
an admission fee of threepence ; except on the last Saturday in each
month, when from One to Four it shall be open free of charge.

2. An annual family subscription of 5& shall admit all the members
of a family subscribing, and an annual subscription of 28. 6d. shall
admit an individual person, on Saturdays and Mondays, for one year.

3. The Members of the Powys-land Club shall have access to the
Museum and Library every day (Sundays excepted) from Ten to Four,
and also shall have tlie privilege of taking therein any personal friends
accompanying them, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and
Fridays.

4. That Donors to the Building Fund, to the amount of 10s.
or upwards, and their families, shall be admitted free on Saturdays
and Mondays for one year from the opening of the Museum and
Library.

0. £ach person visiting the Museum and Library shall be required
to enter his or her name in a Visitor's book, to be provided for that
purpose.

6. No article or book shall, on any account, be removed from the
Museum and Library without the special permission of the Committee.

At the Eighth Annual Meeting of the Powys-land Club, held
on the 4th of October, 1875, in pursuance of notice given in
accordance witli Rule XVII, an alteration in the Laws was
made by the adoption of the following additional rule : —
XVIII. That no dividend, gift, division, or bonus in money shall be
made unto or between any of the Membeys of the Powys-land
Club, or of the said Museum or Library, or any other per-
son whatsoever.

And the following alteration and addition to the Rules of
the Powys-land Museum and Library were made : —
Rule I was altered to read thus —

1. That the public shall be admitted to the Museum every week-

day, from Ten to Four, on the payment of an admission fee
of Threepence, except when tlie Council shall otherwise
determine ; and except on the last Saturday in each month,
when from One to Four it shall be open free of charge.

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The following additional Rule was adopted —

2. That the Books in the Library shall be open gratuitously to the

public, subject to such regulations as shall be made by the

Council.

(Signed) Powis President.

. * „' ' f Three Menibeis of the

A. Howell. > /> ., ^^

Henry P. Ffoulkes. j ^'''''^^•

R F Tr.^,..w i A Member of the Powys-

MoRius Cha. Jones. \ tt o ^ •

William V. Llotd. / honorary Secretartes.

*' I hereby certify that this Society is entitled to the benefit of
the Act 6 and 7 Vict., cap. 36, intituled *An Act to exempt from
County, Borough, Parochial, and other Local Rates, Lands and Build-
ing occupied by Scientific or Literary Societies.*

(Signed) "J. M. Ludlow,
" Chief Registrar of Friendly SocietifiS,
** The Barrister appointed to certify the Rules of ^Savings Banks,
for the Central OflBce, London, 19th November, 1875."

in the year 1887, in order to prevent the closure of the Museum
aud the School of Art, in case the Powys-land Club should cease to
exist, the Trustees put iuto force powers contained in their Trust
Deed, dated 16th July, 1874, and, with the consent of the Council
of the Club, transferred to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of
Welshpool the Museum, the Library of 1200 Volumes, the School
of Art and the Cottage, on the conditions, accepted by the Mayor and
Corporation, that —

1. The Public Libraries Act should be adopted.

2. The Powys-land (Jlub, during its continuance, should have

(according to the provisions of the Trust Deed) the use of the
Museum for its Meetings. They also reserve during the
continuance of the Club the use of their books for circulation
among their Members.
:\. The Powys-land Club have the nomination of two or three of
their members on the Library Committee of Management.

They at the same time transferred the sum of £200 — 4 per cent.
Preference Stock in the London and North- Western Railway Company
— by way of some pi*ovision for a Repair Fund. (See Vol. xxi, 1887,
pp. xii-xvi.)

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COUNCIL AND OFFICERS OF THE POWYS-LAND

CLUB.

THE KARL OF POVVIS.

Vict=9xnititnt%.
THE LORD HARLECH.
SIR WATKIN WILLIAMS-WYNN. Hart.

Coiinril.

Sir Edmund Buckley, Bart., CaitainD.H.Myttun, Garth, VV'eUh-

IMas Dinas. > pooL

Major Corbett- Winder, Vaynor i A. C. Humpureys-Owkn, Esq. , M. P. ,

Park, Betriew. | Glansevem, Garthmyl, Mont.

J. Marshall Duo DALE, Esq., i Rev. Elias Owen, M.A., F.S.A.,

Llwyn, Llanfyllin, Oswestry. I Llanyblodwel Vicarage,

Richard Edward Jones, Esq., ' Oswestry.

Cefn Bryntalch, Abermule. ; T. Pryce, Esq., Peutreheylin, Llan-

MoRRis Paterson Jones, Esq., I ymynech, Oswestry.

20, Abercromby Square, Liverpool I Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, M.A.,

Stanley Leiohton,Esq.,M.P.,F.S. A., i F.S.A., Llandrinio Rectory,

Sweeney Hall, Oswestry. | Oswestry.

Richard Williams, F.R.HititS., Celynog, Newtown.

I^oti. Creasurer.
Matthew Powell, Esq., Lloyds' Bank, Limited, Welshpool.

lEPditonal Committer.
Parochial Histories - V^en. A Rcu deacon Thomas, M. A., F.S.A.

Records - - - Richard Williams, F.R.Hist.S.

Folk-Lore - • • Rev. Elias Owen, M.A., F.S.A.

T. SiMi'soN Jones, Esq., M. A., Gungrog Hall, WelshpooL

IN CONNKCTION WITH

THE WELSHPOOL FllEK PUJJLIC LIBRARY.

The Trustees are prepared to receive and take charge of, and earnestly
solicit, donations and beuuests of Antiquities, Books, Maps, Pictures,
Drawings, Encraviugs, Sculptures, Models from the Antique, Specimens of
Art or Natural History, and other articles which may be deemed suitabV* and
proper to be deposited in the Museum and Library and Gallery of Art.

Honorary Curator, and

Hon, Secretary of the Welnhpool Free Public Library cfc Mmeum Committee,

T. SIMI'SON Jones, Esq., M.A., Gungrog Hall, Welshpool.

Hon. Assuitant Curator, Frederick D. Ward, High Street, WelshpooL
Dtctnihcr 1898.

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LIST OF THE MEMBERS

OP THE

PO WYS-LAN D CLUB.

December 31, 1898.

Those marked * have contributed papers to the ** Montgomeryshire Collections'*.
Those marked f are Donors of Objects to the Powys-land Museum and Libranj.
Those marked X have exhibited articles of interest at the Annual Meeting.

Addie, William Forrester, Elsq., Powis Castle Park, Welshpool
Ashton, Mr. Charles, Dinas Mawddwy

JBeck, Peter Arthur, Esq., Trelydan Hall, Welshpool

Holding, George Frederick, Esq., 204, Hagley Road, Edgbaston,
Birmingham

Bowen, Alfred E., Esq., Town Hall, Pontypool

Brisco, Miss, 79, Portland Place, London, and The Hall, Newtown
JBuckle}', Sir Edmund, Bart., Plas Dinas, Dinas Mawddwy

Cardiff Free Library (John Ballinger, Librarian), Cardiff

Carpenter, J. Edward, Esq., Attorney -at- Law, 710, Walnut Street,
Philadelphia, U.S.A.
ttCorbet- Winder, Major, Vaynor Park, Berriew, Mont.
tCurling, Mrs., Brookland Hall, Welshpool

Davies, David, Esq., Plas Dinam, Llandinam

Davies, Rev. John Evan, M.A., Llangelynin Rectory, Llwyngwril,

Merioneth
Davies, T. J., Esq., 234, Monument Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham
Davis, Rev. D. Grimaldi, M.A., Vicarage, Welshpool
tDugdale, John Marshall, Esq., Llwyn, Llanfyllin

tEvans, Major David Williams, Bryntirion, Kingsland, Shrewsbury,
and Glascoed, Llansantffraid

JEvans, Rev. Edward, M.A., Rectory, Llanfihangel-Ynghwnfa, Llan-
fyllin, Oswestry

tEvans, Edward, Esq., Bronwylfa, Wrexham

tEvans, Mrs. John Hilditch, Bryn Issa, Pershore, Worcestershire

Ffoulkes, Rev. Piers John Benedict, M.A., Rode Rectory, Scholar
Green, Cheshire.

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Ffoulkes, Hte Honour Judge Wynne, M.A., Old Northgate House,
Chester
*tJField, Rev. Augustus, M.A., Vicarage, Lydbury North, Shropshire

Harlech, The Right Hon. Lord, Brogyutyn, Oswestry ( Vice-President)
fHarrison, George Dovereux, Esq., Fronllwyd, Welshpool

Hawkesbury, The Right Hon. Lord, Kirkham Abbey, York

Herbert, Edward F. A. F., Esq., Upper Helmsley Hall, Yorkshire,
and Glanhafren, Newtown, Montgomeryshire
*ttHill, Rev. J. E., M.A., Vicarage, Montford, Salop
♦Howell, Charles E., Esq., Rhiewport, Berriew, Mont.

Howell, J. M., Esq., Craig-y-don, Aberdovey

Hughes, H. R., Esq., Kinmel Park, Abergele

Humphreys-Owen, A. C, Esq., iM.A., M.P., Glansevem, Garthmyl,
Mont.

Inner Temple Library, London (J. Pickering, Esq., Librarian)

Jehu, Richard, Esq., 21, Cloudesley Street, Islington, London
Jones, John Morgan Edwards, Esq., Loubcroy, Wimbledon Hill,

Surrey
Jones, Mrs. Morris Charles, Gungrog, Welshpool
♦ftJones, Morris Paterson, Esq., 20, Abercromby Square, Liverpool
t Jones, Richard Edward, Esq., Cefn Bryntalch, Abermule, Mont.

Jones, Miss S. H., 6, Edwardes Square, London
♦fjoues, T. Simpson, Esq., M.A., Lincoln's Inn, and Gungrog, Welsh-
pool (Honorary Secretary)

♦JLeighton, Stanley, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., M.P., Sweeney Hall, Oswestry

t Lewis, Rev. John, M.A., Vicarage, Ford, Salop
Lewis, Hugh, Esq., M.A.Cantab., Glanhafren, Newtown, Mont.
Liverpool Free Public Library (Peter Co well, Esq., Chief Librarian)
Lloyd, Henry Crampton, Esq., Junior Constitutional Club
Lloyd, Hc»ward Williams, Esq., 112 W., Tulpehocken Street, German-
town, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

♦Lloyd, J. E., Esq., University College of North Wales, Bangor
Lloyd, Richard, Esq., Mount Severn, Newtown

fLloyd, Sampson S., Estj., Tanoway Hill, Woking, Surrey
Lloyd- Vemey. Mrs., Clochfaen, Llanidloes

Morgan, David, Esq., High Street, Welshpool
Morgan, Edward, Esq., Machynlleth
Morris, Thomas, Esq., Bodlondeb, Llanidloes
Morris, T. Rowley, Esq., Bronhaul, Welshpool
jMytton, Captain Devereux Herbert, Garth, Welshpool
Mytton, Miss, Severn Street, Welshpool

Northumberland, His Grace the Duke of, Alnwick Castle, North-
umberland

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New York Public Library, care of Mr. B. F. Stevens, 4, Trafalgar
Square, London

•Owen, Charles Whitley, Esq., Fronfraith, Abermule, Montgomery-
shire
tOwen, Edward H., Esq., F.S.A., Tycoch, Caemai-von
♦tOwen,D. C.Lloyd, Esq., F.E.C.S., 51, Newhall Street, Birmingham
tOwen, David Pryce, Esq., Broad Street, Welshpool
•fOwen, Rev. Elias, M.A., F.S.A., Llanyblodwel Vicarage, Oswestry
fOwen, Rev. Canon R. Trevor, M.A., F.S.A., Llangedwyn, Oswestry
Owen, Rev. Thomas, Christ Church Vicarage, Wellington, Salop

Powis, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Powis Castle, Welshpool
{President)
tJParker, Rev. F. W., M.A., Bickuor, Suffolk Square, Cheltenham

Parry -Jones, Joseph, Esq., Town Clerk, Oswestry

Phillimore, Egerton G. B., Esq., 55^ Gt. Ormond Street, London, W.C.

Powel, Thomas, Esq., Univeraity College, Cardiff

Powell, Evan, Esq., Broomcliffe, Llanidloes, and Powellton, \V. Va.,
U.S.A.

Powell, Edward, Esq., Newtown

Powell, Matthew, Esq., Welshpool {Honorary Treasurer)
tJPowell, Samuel, Esq., Ivy House, Welshpool
tPritchard, W. E. Gilbertson, Esq., Ceniarth, Machynlleth

Price, Mrs., Nordan Hall, Leominster

Pryce, Captain Athelstane R., Cyfronydd, Welshpool
♦tPryce, Edward S. Mostyn, Esq., Gunley, Chirbury. and Bodorgan

House, Bournemouth
tPryce, Thomas, Esq., Pentreheylin, Llanymynech, Oswestry
*Pryce, Thomas Edward, Esq., Architect, 10, Gmy's Inn Square,

London
*Pryce-Jones, Sir Pryce, Dolerw, Newtown, Mont.

Pryce-Jones, A.W , Esq., The Forrest, Kerry, Mont.
*Pugh, William, Es(i., Bod Dyffryn, Kenley, Surrey

Pughe, Mrs. Arthur, Gwyndy, Llanfyllin

Pughe, Rev. G. R. (Jould, Mellor V'icarage, Blackburn

Ruck, Mrs., Pantlludw, Machynlleth

Salt. George Moultrie, Esq , Quarry Place, Salop
Smith, H. Lester, Esq., Halkin, Flintshire
*Sotheran, Henry, Esq., 37, Piccadilly, London

tTemple, Rev. R., M.A., Montgomery
♦Thomas, Ven. Archdeacon, M.A., F.S.A., Rectory,
Oswestry

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Trinity College Library (Rev. R. Sinker, 'M.A., Librarian), Cam-
bridge
♦Twentyman, Llewelyn Howel, Esq., Castlecroft, Wolverhampton.

Williams- Wynn, Sir Watkin, Bart., Wynnstay, Ruabon ( Vice-Presi-
dent)
Williams- Vaughan, Edward, Esq., Broome Hall, Oswestry
♦tJWilliams, Rev. John, Vicarage, Llanrhaiadr, Denbigh

Williams, Miss Mary C. L., 6, Sloane Gardens, S.W.
*ttWilliams, Richard, Esq., F.R.Hi8tS., Celynog, Newtown
♦Williams, Stephen W., Esq., F.S.A., Penralley, Rhayader
Williams, Rev. Thomas J., M.A., Garden House, Cornwall Gardens,
London, S.W., and Henllj^s, Manafon
twilling Edward S., Esq., 511, South Broad Street, Philadelphia,

U.S. A.
Wilmot- Vaughan, Capt., 159, Rue de la Pompe, Paris
Woods, Sir Albert W., Qarter King of Arms, College of Arms,

London, E.C.
Woodall, E., Esq., Wiugthorpe, Oswestry
Woosnam, Ven. Archdeacon, Altrincham
♦Wright, Philh'p, Esq., Mellington Hall, Churchstoke, Montgomery
Wynne, W. R. M., Esq. Peniarth, Towyn, Merioneth

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THE POWYS-LAJ^D CLU

ANNUAL MEETING, 1898.

The Annual Meeting of the Powy aland Club was held in the
Powysland Museum, Welshpool, on Wednesday, December 7th.
The Earl of Powis, President of the Club, took the chair, and
there were also present the Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, Chair-
man of the Council ; the Vicar of Welshpool, the Rev. D.
Grimaldi Davis; the Rev. Elias Owen, F.S.A. (Llanyblodwel) ;
Professor Boyd Dawkins, F.S.A. ; Messrs. G. D. Harrison,
C. E. Howell, Robert Owen, R. E. Jones, Thomas Pryce, and
T. Simpson Jones (Hon, Secretary).

Letters of apology for absence were received from Mr. A. C.
Humphreys-Owen, M.P., Mr. Morris P. Jones (Liverpool), Mr.
J. Marshall Dugdale, Mr. Bolding, and Mr. Richard Williams,
F.R.HistS. Mr. Humphreys-Owen, in his letter, congratu-
lated the Club on the last number of the Montgomeryshire
Collections, which seemed to him to be very interesting.

The Hon. Secretaey read the annual report, which was as

follows : —

The second part of the thirtieth volume of the Collections has now
been for some weeks in the hands of members, and it will be conceded
that for variety and interest it will bear comparison with any of its pre-
decessors. Mr. Stephen Williams's article on " Rhayader and its
Antiquities ** recounts the story of a portion of mediaoval Powysland ;
Mr. Mostyn Pryce describes a Reformation episode in tracing out the
fortunes of the impropriated " Tithes of Forden; " Mr. Lleufer Thomas
brings back to the light the forgotten existence of a " Pre-Reformation
Grammar School at Montgomery ; " and Mr. Charles Howell continues
the modern development of the " Roads, Bridges, Canals, and Rail-
ways " of the county. Montgomeryshire Folk-lore finds its ** sacer
vates^* in Mr. Elias Owen, and the ^' Records," with their important local
information, are carried on by Mr. Richard Williams. The Shrop-
shire side of Offa's Dyke and its knightly families — so many of whom,
like the Kynastons, Corbetts, Leigh tons and Tyrwhitts — have been
previously touched upon by the same writer, is written upon by a
representative of one of the oldest of them all, the Ucv. Georue
Sandford : alus ! that we must now add " the late," for, after his

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article had been put in type, he passed away full of years and service
and honour. The appropriation of the Monks' Fields to Strata Mar-
cella has been cleared up, and a new bard has sung the marvels of
" Cwm Bychan " and " Drws Ardudwy." A fresh feature has been
introduced into this volume, which promises, if it meet with the
approval of the members, to be a source .of much valuable material
for the Collections, viz., a summarised transcript of Parochial Regis-
ters. Through the kindness of Mr. Charles Ashton, and the courtesy
of Mr. Edw. Woodall, an instalment of those of Mallwyd has been
made from " Bye-Gones," and the rest will be forthcoming. A tran-
script of those of Llanbrynmair has been placed at our service by
Mr. Kichard Williams, and Mr. Edwardes, the vicar of Trefeglwys,
has undertaken those of that parish. Mr. Scott Owen*s exhaustive
" History of Tregynon " appears in the current volume, and a large
instalment of the " History of Llandysilio,*' by Mr. Pryce of Pentre-
heylin, has been sent to the press to open the next volume. This
will be followed by some interesting correspondence of the Pryces of
Newtown Hall. A circular has baen issued in the names of the
President, the Chairman, and the Hon. Secretary, giving a brief
summary of the subject-contents of the whole series of the CoUectwiis,
and drawiug attention to their value and importance, in the hope
that not only the list of members will be considerably enlarged, but
that the small band of workers will also be increased. It is there
pointed out that of the ninety-fivB names on the roll of 1868, there
are only twelve surviving members. Within the last twelve months
we have lost, not only Mr. Sandford, who was always so ready to put his
valued pen at our service, but also Mr. G. T. Clark, F.S A., the most
eminent authority in the kingdom upon all points of "Mediaeval
Military Architecture,'* and the contributor to our pages in volume x
of the ' article on the " Moated Mounds of the Upper Severn," and
of " Notes on the Structure and History of Montgomery Castle."
Other members who have passed away include Colonel Heyward and
Mr. Edward Davies, Llandinam. Our new members are Miss Briscoe,
The Hall, Newtown ; Mr. T. J. Davies, of Trewylan, 234, Monument
Road, Edgbastou ; Mr. Edward Powell, Plasybryn, Newtown ; the
Ven. Archdeacon Woosnam, Altrincham ; Capt. Vaughan, Paris ; Rev.
Tho. J. Williams, M.A., Henllys, Manafon, and Garden House, Corn-
wall Gardens, S.W., and Cardiff Free Library. One special need has
been forced upon our thoughts quite recently, and it is insei'ted in our
re[)ort in the hope of its being supplied forthwith. At the Crosswood
sale in July a number of objects connected with Powysland, such as
are rarely to be met with, were disposed of under the hammer, notably
a porti-ait, and other relics of the Rev. Walter Davies (G wallter Mechain),
who might almost be called the father of Montgomeryshire antiquaries ;
a portrait of the Rev. W. J. Rees, of Cascob, the author of Camhro-
JJritis/i Saints ; and a large number of Roman coins found about 100
years ago at Ystrad, near Newtown. The proper home of such relics
should be the Powysland Museum, but there are no funds available

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for such a purpose ; and the committee recommend that in view of
any similar contingency a sum of money be held available for such
use at the discretion of the Chairman and the Secretary.

The President said it was his pleasurable duty to move the
adoption of the report, which, on the whole, he considered most
satisfactory. There was, unfortunately, a regretful side to it,
and in that connection he was sorry they had to mention the
death of Mr. Sandford, who, as they knew, was most keenly
interested in the work of the Club, and kindly wrote an article
for the current number of the Collections. His lordship also
mentioned the names of their good friends, Colonel Heyward
and Mr. Edvv. Davies, Llandinam; both, he felt confident,
would be much missed — in fact, they had already been
much missed — in that county. Colonel Heyward always
evinced the greatest interest in the Club, and was one of
the original members. There was, however, a brighter side,
and they welcomed the new members mentioned in the report,
all of whom they would be glad to see at the annual meetings.
His lordship called special attention to the last paragraph in
the report, in which the suggestion was made that a small sum
of money should be placed at the disposal of the Chairman and
Secretary for the purchase of any relics which might be of
interest to the county. As far as the Chairman was con-
cerned, he was sure he would always be pleased to consult the
members of the Club when any purchase was about to take
place. These opportunities occurred all of a sudden, and he,
therefore, considered that the suggestion was a most valuable
one. He thought it was also gratifying to find that a number
of interesting articles had been contributed to the Club during
the year. He felt that he ought not to omit referring to the
death of Mr. G. T. Clark, who for many years was a neigh-
bour of his in Berkeley Square, where he used occasionally to
meet him. He remembered Mr. Clark, on one occasion,
sending him his book of Welsh pedigrees, with the expressed
wish that he (Lord Powis) would forgive him if he should
think he had extended the Herbert family back to prehistoric
times. The pedigree of the Herbert family, as contained in
that book, was a lengthy one, and while reading it he began
to think the family must be spread all over the world, Mr.
Clark having traced relations whom he had never heard of
before. The noble President, in conclusion, said he was glad
to make a small contribution to the Club in the shape of a
couple of Dervish coins, which were sent him from Egypt just
prior to the conquest of Omdurmau.

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Archdeacon Thomas seconded the adoption of the report.
Last year, they might remember, they had occasion to speak
somewhat anxiously of the prospects of the MorUyomeryshire
Golledions, owing to the difficulty there was in getting new
material and new writers; but he was happy to think that
there was no necessity this year to speak so despondingly of
the matter. He considered that the prospects were now very
much brighter than they had been for some time. As had
already been stated, the last number especially contained a
very large variety of matter, and they were glad to know that
there were some new writers ; at all events, writers who had
for the first time contributed to their journal. In the circular
which had been issued there was a recapitulation of the work
of the Club since its formation, and he hoped the members and
others interested in the Club would make a point of spreading
this fact as widely as possible. He did not think people had
any conception of the immense amount of material and informa-
tion there was to b© found in the pages of the Mmitgomery shire
Collections, Another matter, which might probably avail them
a good deal towards securing a few new members, was the fact
that hardly any copies were printed beyond what were required
for distribution among the members ; and, apart altogether from
their literary value, the Collections would, before long, acquire
an increasing commercial value, as they would become very
difficult to get, and he was sure their contents would justify the
higher estimate which would be placed upon them as time
passed by. Included in the articles contained in the last
part of Volume xxx was one upon the Monks' Fields in that
neighbourhood. In it mention was made of the spring of
Meoleswalle, which he failed altogether to identify, excepting
that the term appeared to him to be retained in the name of
Walton, but whether right or wrong he was not so sure,
because the same syllable appeared iu the name of Wallop,
which lay on the other side of the Monks* Fields ; and if they
put together " Meoles " and " Wallop," and pronounced them
quickly, they came to the name which occurred as the joint
name of a township, viz., Mulsop. He thought the matter was
worth thinking out. Then there was an interesting paper by
Mr. Lleufer Thomas on the Old Grammar School at Mont-
gomery. He should be very much mistaken if the fact of
there having been a grammar school at Montgomery was not
new to them. In looking over some of the earlier Collections
he found, however, two or three references to the endowment
of that guild. For instance, in " 16 Elizabeth, 2nd March,''
there was mention of a grant of a messuage, etc., called

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"The College, near the parish church of Montgomery," also
of " a messuage tenement and garden and a parcel of land
called the * Kay Mogwill,' of four acres, to Edmund Sexton
for twenty-one years, rent £1 6«. 9d./^ while on the same page
also reference was made to " Brinwicky, the Wickey, for the
suppport of the Presbyters in the guild or fraternity of the
B. V. Mary at Montgomery;" and then, in another place,
reference was made to " the fraterny te or late service of our
lady in the said towne, rents of lands and tenements, 265. 9rf."
That sum was precisely the same as the one mentioned in the
first reference. Proceeding, the Archdeacon remarked that
mention had also been made in the report of the parish
registers, and of the fresh venture which had been made in
that direction. On one or two former occasions they had had
occasion to refer to the work of transcribing the registers of
Llandrinio and Penrhos. That day in that room they had
before them the completed work, and no one looking at it
could help being struck by the clearness, beauty, and excellence
with which the work had been done by Mr. Pryce. In the
two books before them, one for Llandrinio and the other for
Llandysilio, they had an exact copy of the registers of those
parishes. Their value could only be understood when they
remembered that, should an accident happen of any kind, such
as fire, to destroy the originals, there was nothing left to replace
them. Some of them might be replaced by extracts from the
diocesan registers, but the registers themselves would be
completely and entirely lost. A deep debt of gratitude was,
therefore, due to those who undertook the work of transcribing
parish registers, and in that way preserving to posterity the
value of works of that kind. The matter, however, was so
large, and the amount of labour involved so extensive thfct he
doubted very much whether theyjvould be able to get the work
completely done in their time; but it was possible, he thought,
that the registers might be so summarised as to be published in
a small compass with every detail of essential importance and
value preserved. That was what they had attempted in the
last part of the Collections^ which began with the parish
registers of Mallwyd. Those registers had been summarised,
and not one single element of importance had been omitted.
Mr. Richard Williams, who had transcribed the registers of
Llanbrynmair for his own purposes, had put them at their
service, and one or two others were doing the same kind of
work. Referring to the matter of the Montgomeryshire relics,
he^seid he was very much struck by the fact that at the time
of the Crosswood sale they had no funds at their disposal

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to enable them to secure for the Museum relics which were
of much ja^reater interest to Montgomeryshire than to any other
part of the country. He was glad to think the relics referred to
had not gone out of the county, but they had not come to what
he thought was their proper home, the Powysland Museum.
That morning, Professor Boyd Dawkins, whom they were glad
to welcome that afternoon as a Montgomeryshire worthy, when
looking over the contents of the Museum cases^ referred to the
present bad arrangement, and he made what, he thought, was
a very generous offer: that was, to arrange the specimens of
antiquarian and geological interest in a scientific manner. He
did not think a more appropriate offer could have been made,
and they could welcome no one more heartily to do the work
than Professor Boyd Dawkins, knowing as they did how
thoroughly well it would be discharged by him. Producing a
copy of the ordnance map for the county, the Ven. Archdeacon
showed by marked squares what parishes of the county had
been written about in the thirty volumes of the Montgomery-
shire Collections, Big gaps still remained, and the editors of
the Collections and the Council were extremely anxious to get
the other parts of the county not yet written about taken in
hand, and completed. One very big gap related to Guilsfield.
The Secretary, however, had obtained the assistance of another
indefatigable contributor, Mr. Robert Owen, and he hoped that
during the next thirty years those gentlemen would be able to
give them a complete history of the parish of Guilsfield. He
said thirty years, because a promise to do the work was con-
tained in the first report of the Club in 1868. He was afraid
to mention another parish (Berriew) which he had in his mind,
because Mr. Howell had conti-ibuted so considerably to the last
number that he felt they should not drive a willing horse too
hard.

The Report having been adopted,

Mr. R. E. Jones moved '' that a sum of £10 be placed at the
disposal of the Chairman and Secretary of the Club, to be
employed in the purchase of articles of local interest for deposit
in the Powysland Museum, and that the Corporation of Welsh-
pool be asked to vote a similar amount for the same purpose.*'
The museum, he said, now belonged to the Corporation of
Welshpool, and he hoped and believed the Corporation would
be prepared to do something also.

Mr. Thomas Pryck seconded the motion, and said he thought
it would be necessary to lay down rules as to the way the
money should be spent. He hoped the Corporation of Welsh-

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pool would see their way to comply with the request to vote a
similar amount.

The Rev. Elias Owen asked whether the things mentioned
in the report as having been sold at the Crosswood sale could
be re-bought.

Mr. Charles Howell moved a vote of thanks to Professor
Boyd Dawkins for his generous offer to re-arrange the arch-
SBotogical and geological specimens forming part of the Powys-
land Museum. Referring to what Archdeacon Thomas had
said about the parish histories, he said he hoped they would
never get the whole of the history of the parish of Berriew.
He called on the Charity Commissioners the other day, and was
told that they were hoping never again to hear of the parish of
Berriew. He was very sorry he could not take up the Ven.
Archdeacon's hint to write the history of Berriew. After allud-
ing to Professor Dawkins's connection with the county, Mr.
Howell said he had great pleasure in moving the vote of
thanks.

Mr. G. D# Harrison seconded the motion, which was carried
unanimously.

Professor Boyd Dawkins said he was afraid his offer had
come before them in a rather bold way, but his position was
simply this : He had come into the Museum for the first time
that day, and he saw there an exceedingly valuable collection
of materials, a large quantity of which was matter in the wrong
place, and which Lord Palmerston would describe as rubbish.
The whole thing, therefore, was unintelligible, and useless to
the ordinary person desirous of acquiring information. He
thought it advisable to mention what his sentiments were
without any of that polite varnish in which such communi-
cations were usually veiled. They had also a valuable collection
of archaeological, geological, and other interesting things mixed
up in a manner which was utterly unintelligible. It seemed
to him his duty — and he felt it to be his duty — to give expres-
sion to his feelings; and he should, therefore, have much pleasure
in coming there from time to time, and helping liiem to put
things in order, so as to make the Museum really useful to the
student, and of general interest to the public. There were
many things that ought to go away. One of the first things
was to bum and destroy, and he hoped they would give him
power to burn and destroy so much of it as was a collection of
monstrosities and horrors. He had had great experience in
museum organisation* On one occasion he organised a very

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big one in Manchester, and the first thing he did there was
to burn those things which were absolutely useless to the
museum ; and as he had already said, if he were to re-arrange
their museum there, he hoped they would give the power ho
asked for. He should be extremely sorry if the effort of his
old friend, Mr. Morris Charles Jones, which found expression
in that museum, was not properly continued. In conclusion,
he added that he would require a certain amount of printing,
and someone to take down notes. He hoped to give all the
time at his disposal, and that he would be able to reduce the
museum to intelligible form, useful to themselves, and even to
school -children.

The Ven. Archdeacon Thomas said, it would be noticed from
the report that they had lost one of their Vice-Presidents, in
the person of the Rev. George Sandford, and it was their duty
to elect someone to fill the vacancy. Looking at the work of
the Club from its literary side, one felt that the Council should
be as representative as possible of the contributors to the
pages of the Montgomeryshire Collections, Two names had been
debated, and both were considered equally suitable, for filling
the vacancy, but the Committee that morning resolved to
recommend that Mr. Thomas Pryce should be elected. Mr.
Pryce had rendered valuable service in helping to carry on the
Transactions of the Club, while he had just completed the
history of the parish of Llandysilio, which was now in the
printer's hands. He had much pleasure, therefore, in moving
his election.

The Rev. Elias Owen, in seconding the motion, said there
was no need for him to say a single word about the gentle-
man who had been proposed for the office of Member of the
Council. He thought his election would be an acquisition to
the Council.

The motion having been carried,

Mr. Pbycb, in reply, referred to the great pleasure it had
always given him to promote the best interests of the Club.

The Rev. Elias Owen then moved a vote of thanks to the
President fer his kindness in coming amongst them this year
as usual to conduct the proceedings of that meeting. He did
not think it was at all necessary that he should say much, as
his lordship was known to them all. They also knew how
perfectly willing he was to do anything to carry on all matters
connected with the county.

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XXV

The Vicar op ; Welshpool said he had great pleasure in
seconding the motion. He added that he was sure it was
pfratifying to Lord Powis, as well as to all those present, that
Professor Dawkins had taken in hand the re-arrangement of
the museum. He was sure it would have given Mr. Morris
C. Jones, who always had that museum very near and dear
to his heart, the greatest gratification to have known that his
old friend — Professor Boyd Dawkins — was willing and ready
to improve the museum. They were thankful to Lord Powis
for his continued interest in the club.

The motion was carried with acclamation, and

The President, in reply, said it afforded him pleasure at
all times to render what service he could to the Club. That
meeting lent additional interest to the club from the fact that
Professor Dawkins had kindly offered to re-arrange the museum ;
and hu hoped that on the occasion of their next meeting, they
would find all the present mistakes remedied, and the museum
improved.

This ended the business, and the meeting closed.

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XXVI

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xxvin

The Circular.
POWYS-LAND CLUB.

MONTGOMBRYSHIBB COLLECTIONS.

The Powys-land Club was established in 1867, '*for the
collecting and printing (for the use of its members), of the
Historical, Ecclesiastical, Genealogical, Topographical, and
Literary Remains of Montgomeryshire'^ ; and during the
thirty-one years of its existence it has issued thirty annual
volumes of Montgomeryshire Collections^ one extra volume of
Montgomeryshire Pedigrees, by L. Dwnn, two hundred pages of
Montgomeryshire Records, now in progress. Besides a rare
collection of Parochial Histories, twenty-two in number, the
volumes abound in articles on the Botany, Geology, Physio-
graphy, and natural History of the county ; and so they provide
those who are most interested in their own neighbourhood with
the story of its ancient and modern life, historical, social,
and physical ; and they supply the more general student with
abundant material for study and comparison.

The wealth of this material will be realised better if we
enumerate more in detail the extent and variety of its character.
Thus we have articles on the —

Abbeys of Strata Marcella, Strata Florida, Cwmhir, Cridia and
Vallecrucis, and the Nunnery of Llanllugan.

Battles of the Breiddin, Buttington, Caruo, Pengwern, Rhydy-
groes.

British Camps and Earthworks innumerable.

Castles of Carreghova, Dolforwyn, Mathraval, Montgomery,
Powis.

Enclosure of Common Lands in the County.

Folk-lore of the County

Histories and Pedigrees of nearly 200 Families, existing or
extinct.

Lordships of Mawddwy, Mechain, Penllyn, Powis.

Manors of Bausley, Cyfeiliog, Deuddwr, Arwystli, Talerddig.

Miscellanea Historica, illustratmg the history of the County.

Miscellaneous Memoranda, 140 in number.

Moated Mounds of the Valley of the Severn.

Nonconformity, History of, in the County.

Parochial Histories of Darowen, Forden, Garthbeibio, Hirnant,
Kerry, Llanbrynmair, Llandrinio, Llanerfyl, Llanfair, Lliiu-
fechain, Llanfyllin, Llangadfuu, Llangurig, Llanidloes,

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Llanrhaiadr, LlaiisantflFraid, Llauwddyn, Llanymynech,

Meifod, Pennant, Tregynon, and Welsh Pool.
Poets and other Worthies of Montgomeryshire.
Powysiana, under 81 heads.
Rivers, Roads, and Roman Remains.
Sheriffs of the County, 1541-1676.
Timbered Houses : Maesmawr, Trewern, Penarth, Park, Lymore,

Pertheirin, Llandinam, Talgarth, Rhyd-y-Carw, Glynne.
Wills in Somerset House and in the Diocesan Registries of

St. Asaph, Bangor, and Hereford.
To which must be added the Records and the Parochial Registers

which are in progress.

The Writers of these articles include the names of E. L.
Barnwell, M. H. Bloxam, Charles Boutell, Ed. Breese, Canon
Hon. G. T. 0. Bridgeraan, G. T. Clark, Preb. James Davies,
J. P. Earwaker, Edw. Hamer, Morris Chas. Jones, Rob. Jones
(Rob Roy), Howell W. Lloyd, Chevalier Lloyd, W. Valentine
Lloyd, The Earl of Powis, Geo. Sandford, and W. W. E. Wynne.
We omit the names of those still living.

The bare enumeration of the above subjects and writers will
suflSce to show the claims of the Powys-land Club on the
allegiance and support of Montgomeryshire men ; and surely
no library can be considered complete from which the Mont-
gomeryshire Collections are absent.

Of the ninety-five names in the first list of members in 1868,
twelve are still on the roll and ten are represented by their
widows or heirs ; four others are still living, but they have
ceased to be raembors. In the last issued list, December 1896,
our number was one hundred and fifteen, but of these nine have
died or withdrawn. We take this opportunity of drawing the
attention of Montgomeryshire men especially, and of all
interested in its history, to the work of the Club and to the
value of its Journal, the Montgomeryshire Collections^ in the
earnest hope of stirring up a wider interest and enlisting a
larger number of members in its support.

There remain only twelve complete sets in hand, and they
are offered to members at Twenty Guineas a set.

The Earl op Powis, President
Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, Chairman.
T. Simpson Jonks, Eon, Sec.

The Annual Subscription is One Giiinea, payable to the
Hon. Secretary, Gungrog, Welshpool, or Lloyds Bank, on the
1st of January.

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iix

OBITUARY OF MEMBERS.

1897.

Bridgemau, The Rev. The Hon. John R. Orlando, M.A., Rector of
Weaton-under-Lyziard, Shifnal

Matthews, Rev. Prebendary, M.A., Rector of Llandysilio

Pugh-Lovell, Mrs., Llanerchydol, Welshpool

1898.

Clark, G. T., Esq., F.S.A., Talygara, Llantrissant, South Wales

Davies, Edward, Esq., Plas Dinara, Llandinam

Hey ward. Col. John Hey ward. Cross wood

Sandford, Rev. George, M.A., Pant Purlas, Llandrindod ; Vicar of
Eccleshall, Sheffield

Story, Sir Thomas, Westfield, Lancaster

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XXXI

BRITAIN IN THE PRE-HISTORIC IRON AGE.

There was a lar^e and interested audience in the Art Room,
Welshpool, on Wednesday afternoon to hear Professor Boyd
Dawkins, of Victoria University — a Montgomeryshire worthy
— lecture on " Britain in the Pre-historic Iron Age/^ The
lecture was of a highly interesting nature, inasmuch as Pro-
fessor Boyd Dawkins supplied his hearers with information
which, as he truly said, has not yet been seen by the publishers,
information which would make an interesting addition to Pro-
fessor Boyd Dawkins's work, " Pre-historic Britain," published
some three years ago. Colonel Pryce-Jones, M.P., who pre-
sided, explained the object of the lecture, and in a few well-
chosen words introduced Professor Boyd Dawkins to the
meeting amid applause.

Professor Boyd Dawkins, after a few introductory remarks,
said he proposed to deal with that period in the history of this
country which preceded the Roman occupation and the Roman
conquest. He proposed to lay before them as well as he was
able an outline of the manners and customs of the people who
were the inhabitants of Britain in general, prior to the times
referred to. He wanted particularly to show them that the
inhabitants about whom he intended to speak, were a people
not divided from us by anything excepting this: that they
were in a lower state of culture than we were. He would
convince those present that they were not to be looked upon
in the least degree as objects going about with very few
clothes on and painted blue, as they often saw them depicted
in picture books. He wished to prove that there was not the
slightest ground for such a suggestion, and to show that they
possessed a large number of the elements of civilisation which
we ourselves enjoyed. He proposed to lay before them, first
of all, pictures of the habitations and of the fortresses, and to
end with a consideration of the tombs belonging to that period.
He wished to preface these things by saying a few words with
reference to the vai*ious races which inhabited this country at
a time before our history began.

There were three distinct races in the country at the time
of which he was speaking. There were the long-headed folk
known as Iberian, who were small limbed, swarthy corn-

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xxxn

plexioaed, having dark hair and eyes. Their representatives
were widely distributed at the present time, and in these
islands were found chiefly in the west of Ireland, and in some
parts of the Highlands of Scotland and Wales. Through all
the troubles which followed the conquest of Gaul and Britain
by the Romans, through all the terrible events which accom-
panied the downfall of the Roman Empire, causing the Britons
to be exterminated all over a large part of England, the Iberian
survived, and was still to be found in his ancient seats, with
physique scarcely altered, and offering a strong contrast to the
fair-headed Celtic, Belgic, and Germanic invaders. Then there
were the Goidel and Brython races. The Goidels were of a
type still extremely abundant in some parts of Wales in the
present day, and were known by their aquiline nose and noble
forehead. Of the Brythons he was not able to give them so
clear a description as distinct from the Goidels. He believed
they were very much more mixed, but looking at their various
attributes he should say many of them were distinctly derived
from an Iberian ancestry.

It must be remembered that they knew next to nothing
of this country until about 50 B.C. With the aid of illustrations
Professor Dawkins described the recently discovered and
curious settlement in the marshes of Glastonbury, the original
site of a village which was built on piles driven into a lake.
The houses were arranged in circular form, suiTOunded by
palisades, and approached by canoes from the land. It was the
habit to adorn the entrance with human skulls, some of
which were carried on iron-pointed spears, and several bore
the cuts of a sword, probably incurred in mortal combat In-
side that lake village were discovered innumerable remains,
which indicated the operations carried on there. There were
herdsmen and farmers who had the small Welsh oxen, and
sheep, goats, horses, and pigs. It might interest some of them
who lived in a sporting country to know that at Glastonbury
they also had fighting cocks, and when he said they had game
cocks for fighting it would be admitted that that was a sign
ofoneofthe very highest phases of civilisation. Their wood-
work was perfectly beautiful. The houses were built on timbers
driven into clay, morticed together in the most skilful manner.
Among the avocations of the inhabitants was that of weaving,
in which they were greatly assisted by the use of a comb, from
which that modern adornment of a lady's hair had doubtless
descended. It was pretty certain that flax was woven, for
flax was woven in a similar way in Switzerland in the Bronze
Age, and such a discovery as the use of flax would be a thing

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XXXlll

oever lost. II is own opinion was that the combs were used
for weaving lineu, but he also thought those pre-historic
people were possibly in the habit of weaving wool, for that
was used at a very early period in Ireland, and in the Bronze
Age in Scandinavia. Pottery making was a flourishing art
among them^ and the audience would observe, from some of
the pictures on the screen, that the Ancient Briton could pro-
duce some very beautiful designs. This led them to link that
particular period with a contact with the civilisation of Italy.
No doubt those inhabitants of the mai*shes in Somersetshire
were in touch with the more advanced conditions of the south.
There had also been discovered brooches, of the safety-pin
type, which were known to exist all over Europe two or three
hundred years before the birth of Christ.

The lake people also carried on the manufacture of bronze,
and crucibles had been discovered with fragments of that metal
at the bottom. From all those things they would see that
they were not dealing with rude and naked savages, but with
a people acquainted with many organised instruments of civili-
sation. As regards the iron work, abundant specimens had
been found, including bill-hooks, adzes, scythes, chisels, swords,
and spears, all of which revealed to us the mode of life in that
particular group of habitations in the ancient and sacred spot
of Glastonbury.

They had something of a similar description on the top of
Mount Cabum, near Lewes, in Sussex, but this was built as a
fortress. Coins made their appearance there. They were of a
rude early Grecian type, and belonged to the period about 200
years before Christ. He would like next to refer them to pre-
historic Northampton in the Iron Age, as there they had found
the remains of some of the pit dwellings, once inhabited by the
people of whom he had been speaking, which were about 5 ft.
below the surface of the ground. There they had again ample
proof that the manufacture of pottery was carried on. Among
the more interesting discoveries, however, were specimens of the
snaffle bit. All the early hcrse bits that he knew of were of the
snaffle kind, and this, to his mind, clearly indicated that both
riding and driving were indulged in at that long departed
time.

There were also upwards of one hundred querns for grinding
corn ; similar querns had been found at Glastonbury and other
places, and glass-blowing and blacksmithing were also carried
on. In the lake village of Glastonbury an instrument had
been found which an eminent authority declared was a latch-
key, which, if it were true, was one of the marks of the very

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highest civilisation. There was only one other found at pre-
historic Northampton, and it was just possible that only one of
the tribe was entrusted with it.

Dealing with the ancient mode of burial, the Professor said
the dead were generally interred in round " barrows/* copies of
the honses. The bodies were cremated, and the ashes were
placed in suitable vases ; and the trinkets of the deceased
wearers were often deposited with them ; some bodies were
buried. Burial mounds of this description had been found in
the wolds of Yorkshire, and one of greater interest had been
found at Mold, where the discovery of richly-ornamented,
golden armour showed how closely in touch the people at that
time were with the civilisation of the south. Referring to the
Mold discovery, he remarked that on removing upwards of
three hundred cartloads of stone a skeleton was discovered laid
at full length, wearing a corselet, now in the British Museum,
of beautifully wrought gold, which had been placed on a lining
of bronze. Close by were upwards of one hundred amber
beads as well as traces of corroded iron. The corselet was
formed of a thin plate of gold, 3 ft 7 in. long, 8 in. wide, and
weighing 17 ozs., and was in repouss^ with nail head and dotted
line pattern. It was a work of Etruscan art, and not of local
manufacture, like the breast-plates of great value, stated by
Polybius to have been made and worn by the natives of 6auL
He took it that there must have been a very intimate com-
merce between Britain and the region of the Mediterranean
some 200 years b.c.

Vast numbers of golden ornaments of the Pre-historic Iron
Age had been found in Ireland, in fact, more than in all the
rest of Europe put together. He believed that Ireland in
those ancient days — some 200 years B.C., and before the Boman
name was known in the West — was a great gold-producing
land, and that the rivers and alluvial workings of Wicklow
contained large quantities of goM, which attracted commerce
to Ireland in the Pre-historic Iron Age. He took it that the
existence of that gold would account for the high type of art
in the country at that time. Concluding, Professor Dawkins
observed that each of the changes he had recorded bad left
its mrk on the Britain of to-day, so intimate was the con-
tionil^ rtmning through all events. History took up the
story of human progress at the point where it was dropped
by geology, archaeology, and ethnology, and carried it on to
the present day.

The address, which was frequently punctuated with applause,
was illustrated by means of a lantern, kindly lent by Mr. Evan

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XXXV

Humphreys, of Newtown, and ably manipulated by Mr.
Hibbott, of Newtown,

On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by the Yen.
Archdeacon Thomas, a hearty vote of thanks was given to
Professor Boyd Dawkins for his lecture. Similar compliments
were made to the Chairman for presiding, and Mr. Evan
Humphreys for lending, and Mr. Hibbott for working, the
lantern.

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XXXVl

The PowYS-LAND Club exchanges publications with the
following Literary Societies, viz. : —

The Society of AntiqaarieB of EDgland, Burlington House, London.

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Royal Institution, Edinburgh.

The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne (Hon. Secretary,
R. Blair, Esq., South Shields).

The Royal Archeeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 20,
Hanover Square, W.

The Berwickshire Naturalist Club (James Hardy, Esq., Old Cambus,
Oocksbumspath, Hon. Sec.).

The Bristol and Gloucester Archseological Society, The Museum,
Gloucester.

The British Archaeological Association, 32, Sackville Street, Piccadilly.

The Cambrian ArchsBological Association (care of J. Romilly Allen,
Efo., 28, Great Ormond Street, London, W.C).

The Cambridge Antiquarian Society.

The Chester Archaeological and Historical Society, Grosvenor Museum,
Chester.

The Royal Institution of CornwaU (The Hon. Secretaries, Truro).

The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, London (Secretary, E.
Vincent Evans, Eiq., Lonsdale Chambers, 27, Chanceiy Lane, W.C).

The Essex Archaeological Society (G. F. Beaumont, Esq., F.S.A., The
Lawn, Coggeshall, Essex, Secretary).

GlasgoifT Arohseological Society (care of James Madehose and Co., St.
Vincent Street, Glasgow).

The Glasgow Philosophical Society, 207, Bath Street, Glau;ow.

The Kent Archaeological Society (Geo. Payne, Esq., F.S.A., The
Precinct, Rochester).

The Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society (care of
Messrs. Clarke and Hodgson, 5, Gallow Gate, Leicester).

The Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, Royal Institution,
Liverpool.

The London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (G. H. Birch, Esq.,
Hon. Sec., 9, Buckingham Street, Strand, London).

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, No. 920, Spruce Street, Phila-
delphia, U.S.A.

The Record Society.

The Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, The
Museum, Salop.

The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, U.S.A.

The Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, The
CasUe, Taunton.

The Suflfolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History (Hon.
Sec., Woodbridge, Suffolk).

The Surrey Archaeological Society, 8, Danes Inn, Strand, London.

The Sussex Archaeological Society (The Secretary), The Castle, Lewes.

The Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Society (G. H.
Tomlinson, Esq., Huddersfield).

The Wiltshire Archaeological Society, The Museum, Devizes.

The Worcester Diocesan Architectural and Archaeological Society,
Worcester.

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Vol XXX, i.

-jisU

COLLECTIONS

HISTORICAL & ARCHtEOLOGIOAL

RELATING TO

MONTGOMEETSHIRE

AND ITS BORDERS.

ISSUKD BY THE POWYS-LAND CLUB FOR THE USE OF ITS MBMBEIIS.

PART LVIII.

DECEMBER 1897.

LONDON :

PRINTED FOR THE CLUB BY

THE BEDFORD PRESS, 20 axo 21, BEDFORDBUKY, W.C.

^^_ Q^i^PdhyCoOgle

'* History hath no page
More brightly lettered of heroic dust.
Or manly worth, or woman's nobleness.
Than thou may'st show ; thou hast nor hill nor dale,
But lives in legend."

** That which is a puzzle in the life of the individual becomes principle
in the history of the race ; the blackest pages of local history are the
illuminating spots in the story of humanity."

(Jbnkik Lloyd Joites,
FaitJ^ulnesSf and othei' Popet'j, 1890.)

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VoL XXX, iii

IGiiC-^

COLLECT]

.<y

HISTORICAL & ARCHmOGICAL

RELATING TO

MONTGOMERTSHIEE

AND ITS BORDERS.

IKSUKD HY THE POWYS-LAND CLUB KOU THE USE OF ITS MEMBERS.

TITLB PAGE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS OF VOL. XXX, AND KEPORT OF
THE THIRTIETH ANNUAL MEETING.

DECEMBER 1898.
LONDON :

PRINTED FOR THE CLUB BY

THE BEDFORD PRESS, 20 and 21, BEDFORDBURY, W.C.

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MONTGOMERYSHIRE COLLECTIONS.

CONTENTS OF VOL. XXX (Part iiX

NOVEMBER 1898.

i. Rhayader and its Antiquities. By S. W. Williams, Esq., F.S.A. 211

ii. Rowton Castle. By Rev. G. Sandfobd, Pant Purlas, Llandrindod 236
iii. The Eight Knightly Families of Shropshire who have Borne

Arms from the Fifteenth Century. By R«v. G. Sakdford, M. A. 242

Corbet of Acton Beynald, Shrewsbury - - - 343

The Leightons of Loton ----- 346

The Sandf ordi of Sondford ----- 348

The Eynastons of Hardwiek - - - - 250

The Comwalls of Delbury ----- 252

The Burtons of Longner - - - - - 253 .

Harley, of Down Bossall ----- 255

Tyrwhitt. of Stanley Hall ----- 256

iv. The Twenty "Gentle" Families of Shropshire. By Rev. G.

Sandford, M.A.- ...... 258

V. Forden Tithes. By E. S. Mostyn-Pryce, Esq., M.A. - - -iCJO

vi. Roads, Bridges, Canals, and Railways in Montgomeryshire. By

Charles E. Howell, Esq., Rhiewport- - - 282

vii. The Prae-Reformation Grammar School of Montgomery. By D.

Lleufbr Thomas - - - - 291

viii. Strata Maroella and the Monks' Fields. D. R. T. - :m

ix. Montgomeryshire Folk -Lore. By Rev. Eli as Owen, F.S.A. 307

X. The Passes of Cwm Bychfi-n and Drws Ardudwy - - .313

xi. Parochial Registers- ...... 319

Mallwyd Registers - - - - - 322

Obituary Notice— The Rev. George Sandford, M.A., V.-P. - - :U\

Supplement. — Montgomeryshire Records. - 129 to 224

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For the Collecting and Printing^ for the use of its Members^ of the

Historical^ Ecclesiastical^ Genealogical^ Topographical^ and

Literary Remains of Montgomeryshire.

INSTITUTED MDOOOLXVII.

Presilreitt.
THE EARL OF POWIS.

THE LORD HARLECH.

SIR WATKIN WILLIAMS- WYNN, Babt.

CouncCl

Sib Edmund Buoklby, Babt.,

PUs Dinas.
Majob Cobbbtt-Windeb, Vaynor

Park, Berriew.
J. Mabshall Duodale, Esq.,

Llwyn, Llanfyllin, Oswestry.
RiCHABD Edwabd Jones, Esq.,

Cefn Bryntalch, Abermule.
MoBBis Patebson Jones, Esq.,

20, Abercromby Square, Liverpool
Stanley Leighton,E8Q.,M.P.,F.S. A.,

Sweeney Hall, Oswestry.

Captain D. H. Mytton, Garth, Welsh-
pool.

A. C. HUMPHBEYS-OWBN, ESQ., M.P.,

Glansevem, Garthmyl, Mont.
Rev. Eli as Owen, M.A., F.S A.,

Llanyblodwel Vicarage,
Oswestry.
Rev. Geo. Sandpobd, M.A., Pant

Purlas, Llandrindod.
Ven. Abghdeaoon Thomas, M.A.,

F.S. A., Llandrinio Rectory,

Oswestry.

Richabd Williams, F.R.HistS., Celynog, Newtown.

P^on. Creaflurer.
Matthew Powell, Esq., Lloyds' Bank, Limited, Welshpool.

({^Irttonal Committee.
Parochial Histories - Ven. Abchdeaoon Thomas, M.A., F.S. A.

Records - - - Richabd Williams, F.R.Hi8t.S.

Folk-Lore - - - Rev. Ellas Owen, M.A., F.S.A.

J^on. ^eeretar?.
T. Simpson Jones, Esq., M.A., Gungrog Hall, Welshpool.

Membbbs' Subscriptions for the cu rent year, commencing Ist Oct. 1897,
are now payable, and are requested to be remitted to the Honorary Treasurer,
Matthew Powell, Esq. (Lloyds' Bank, Limited), Welshpool, or to the
Secretary. •

Gentlemen or Ladies who wish to join the Club are requested to com-
municate with the Secretary.

Ci)e P0tops4anli jWuseum anH (Pallerp of ait,

in connection with

THE WELSHPOOL FKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

The Trustees are prepared to receive and take charge of, and earnestly
8 )licit, donations and bequests of Antiquities, Books, Maps, Pictures,
Drawings, Engravings, Sculptures, Models from the Antique, Specimens of
Art or Natural History, and other articles which may be deemed suitable and
proper to be deposited in the Museum and Library and Gallery of Art.
Honorary Curator ^ and
Hon. Secretary of the Welshpool Free PMic Library <£? Museum GommitUey

T. Simpson Jones, Esq., M.A., Gungrog Hall, Welshpool.
Hon. A.<^isfarif. Gurator^ Fbedbbick D. Wabd, 3, Cobden Street, Welshpool,
December 1897. Digitized by GoOglc

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THE NEW YORK PUBUC UBRARY
AGFBRENCE DEPARTMENT

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